The passing of the Bill, just hours before the December 16th deadline, now paves the way for Guyana to access some US$30 million a year in debt relief for the next 20 years, through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPIC).

This is according to Finance Minister, Sasenaraine Kowlessar, who presented the Bill before the National Assembly.

Asked how he felt, after the lengthy and heated deliberations, which took the sitting into the dark hours of yesterday, an evidently stressed Finance Minister, who resolutely stood his ground throughout the ordeal, tersely replied, "Relieved!"

He outlined that the meeting at which Guyana's eligibility will be determined is set for tomorrow in Washington. The formulation and enactment of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Bill, a 'comprehensive piece of legislation' on the subject of fiscal management and accountability, according to Minister Kowlessar, came at the behest of the multilateral financial institutions.
The Bill, Number 21 of 2003, published on December 5 last, intituled an Act to provide for the regulation of the preparation and execution of the annual budget; the receipt, control and disbursement of public monies; the accounting for public monies and such other matters connected with, or incidental to the transparent and efficient management of the finances of Guyana. It was read for the first time last Thursday.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds was among speakers entreating the indulgence of the House for support of the Bill. He said that with the enactment of such legislation Guyana was coming into conformity with the worldwide standards of governance. And referring to the HIPIC debt relief arrangements, he noted that the passing of the Bill had implications for the people of Guyana. He therefore urged that the Opposition make greater effort to study it.

President Bharrat Jagdeo had urged Opposition support for Government's debt relief initiatives when he hosted a news conference last Friday. The benefits of debt relief, he said, transcended partisanship and should be supported by all in the national interest.

Meanwhile, Mr. Winston Murray, on behalf of the Opposition People's National Congress-Reform, said that his party welcomed the arrival of the Bill in the National Assembly, and fully supported its objectives of better financial management and accountability.
Murray said that many of the concepts and provisions of the Bill were acceptable, and generally may be supportable, but argued Government must be prepared to allow reasonable time for in-depth consideration of all the issues. He said that since the document was only received by the PNC-R and Members of the National Assembly on Tuesday December 9, and had its first reading last Thursday, the time given to study and peruse the Bill was grossly inadequate.

In a letter to the Minister of Finance yesterday, the PNC-R outlined that, notwithstanding the short time available to study the document, the following observations were made:

** The Bill may be in contravention of the Constitution, in particular the clauses dealing with the Contingencies Fund, and with multi-year drawing rights in advance of the passing of the Appropriation Act.

** The Bill had far reaching effects on the legal force of other legislation, the ramifications of which have to be carefully studied: specifically parts II, III and IV of the Financial Administration and Audit Acts being repealed, and presumably the contents thereof being dispensed with altogether.

** Some matters in the Bill, such as bank accounts and loan expenditure, were also dealt with in the Financial Regulations.

Murray argued that, notwithstanding the PNC-R's best endeavours, it was not possible for the party, within the time available, to have worked through all the implications, and to be satisfied that the Bill was fully compatible with other legislation, constitutionally sound and adequately accommodative of the principles of sound financial management, transparency and accountability.

Ms. Sheila Holder of the WPA-GAP, also concurring with Mr. Ravi Dev, Leader of ROAR that the time given the Opposition parties to study the bill was grossly inadequate, was dismayed at what she said was "the obvious rush" to table the Bill. She said that such parties, being small, lacked the resources to effectively address the Bill, given such a short time. She contended that it was being 'rushed', with the sole intention of "getting HIPIC funds released, rather than embracing a paradigm shift to modernize and better regulate the financial management practices of the state. "For the President to call for the Opposition's support in accessing these funds in these circumstances, is to ask the Opposition to collude with Government in undermining the oversight role that should really be activated in the National Assembly," she contended.

Holder was of the view that rushing the Bill through the House denies civil society and special interest groups their constitutional right to participate in its formulation. This move, she said, further retarded the advent of civil society participating in the legislative process.