E-payment bill to be laid in National Assembly soon

DPI – The Electronic Communications and Transaction Bill will be tabled at the next sitting of the National Assembly, as part of its continued implementation of legislation to reflect Guyana’s rapidly advancing and expanding economy, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC said on FridayThe proposed Bill intends to promote the developmentofthelegaland business infrastructure necessary to implement secureelectroniccommerce. Nandlall,wasatthetime delivering remarks at the L a w W e e k 2 0 2 3 symposium, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) The Attorney General said the Bill will formally introduce etransactionsande-payments across central government and the state apparatus % a measure that is necessary in light of Guyana’s transition tomodernisation.

Hesaid,“Thiswillallow for easy conduct of transactions involving the modern methods of communications and payments.”TheBillseeksto ensure that electronic communication is recognised by law and acceptable for business and governmenttransactions.

In January, the AG announced that the Bill was on the docket for 2023, along with others including the Petroleum Bill.These efforts form part of the government’s legislative a g e n d a , a i m e d a t i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e corresponding legal framework and institutional capacity to sustain the country’s large-scale d e v e l o p m e n t s “ A comprehensive review of a large body of our statute laws is requisite in order to bring them in consonance with a modern Guyana,” MinisterNandlalladded.

He stressed that the government’s vision for the legislative agenda also entails an aggressive approachtobuildinghuman capacity and strengthening legalinstitutions.

Guyana is looking to become one of the top petroleum-producing countriesinLatinAmerica.

Further, the Attorney General noted that the governmentwillcontinuein its endeavour to amend and reform the country’s legislation, as a complete review of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act has been completed and the amendmentbillsettobelaid in the National Assembly soon Moreover, these reforms are implemented to match the futuristic and technological society, as acrossallsectors,legislation is being introduced to aid in the expansion of these sectors These sectors include health, agriculture, andoilandgas.