Dear Editor,
In January 2024, I wrote to your publication calling for greater accountability in the functioning of the Committee on Appointments, which carries a constitutional mandate to oversee critical appointments to various Commissions and state agencies, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
In that correspondence, I provided a brief overview of the reasons behind the Committee’s failure to meet regularly. I must now remind both you and your readers that the last meeting, the 19th sitting of the Committee, was held in April 2023, more than two years ago. That meeting focused on finalizing the public consultations for the Rights of the Child Commission. Unfortunately, that process has not advanced since.
Editor, with national elections constitutionally due by September 1, 2025, I must express my profound disappointment and dissatisfaction as a sitting member of the Committee. The Committee has utterly failed to fulfill its constitutional mandate during the life of the 12th Parliament; a Parliament I can confidently describe as the most dysfunctional in Independent Guyana’s history.
As a Member of Parliament who has served on this Committee under both Opposition and Government benches, I can say that despite previous challenges, the Committee in past parliaments met regularly and worked to address matters before it.
On April 30, 2025, I, along with other members of the Committee, received an email from the Parliament Office on behalf of Minister Gail Teixeira, MP, who serves as Chairperson of the Committee. The email proposed holding the 20th meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, rather than the statutory date of Wednesday, May 14, 2025, due to the scheduled meeting of the Parliamentary Management Committee.
Members of the Committee responded, indicating their availability for Tuesday, May 13, 2025, as proposed. My colleague, MP Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, requested clarification on the agenda. On May 2, 2025, the following agenda items were shared:
- Renewal of contracts and continuation of discussions on the appointment of a Deputy Director to the FIU.
- Status update on the Women and Gender Equality Commission.
- Status update on the Rights of the Child Commission.
- Continuation of discussions on the Indigenous People’s Commission; and
- Appointment of members to the Local Government Commission.
Despite this, no feedback has since been received from Minister Teixeira regarding the non-convening of the May 13, 2025, meeting.
Editor, the matters listed above are urgent and consequential, particularly the appointments at the FIU, which are critical to Guyana’s compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws. In the absence of this meeting, and considering the Committee’s inaction, I would like to know whether the contracts for key FIU personnel have since been renewed, and if so, on what constitutional basis.
Therefore, I call on Minister Gail Teixeira as Chairperson to publicly explain:
- Why the 20th sitting of the Committee on Appointments not convened?
- How, in the absence of a meeting, the urgent matters before the Committee, particularly the renewal of contracts at the FIU will be addressed prior to the 2025 elections?
I sincerely hope I will not be blindsided with a decision made unilaterally, or without the required constitutional process, regarding these appointments.
I look forward to a public response from Minister Teixeira.
Yours truly,
Annette Ferguson, MP
