Crime solving not in the DNA of Mr. Rohee and the PPP regime

Dear Editor,
With all that has been happening globally especially with EBOLA and ISIS, and regionally with the Chickungunya virus we sometimes tend to forget what is happening in Guyana locally. While the focus has been on the AFC “no confidence” motion and the ultimatum issued by the leader of APNU, David Granger to President Ramotar to call Local Government Elections, the fact remains that the high crime rate and almost daily murders remain unacceptable to the citizens of this peaceful nation. Day by day it is almost a certainty that someone will be murdered by criminals or by a spouse. The murder toll for this year so far is 109 and this has increased by 23 percent compared to the same period last year.
It is crystal clear that the Guyana is back to the days where the problem of crime, armed robbery and the “hire for murder” gangs pose a very serious risk to all law-abiding citizens. Clearly, the country is back to the killing fields experienced between 2002 and 2006, and quite significantly, business and innocent and hard-working citizens are the daily targets by criminals.
As the General Secretary (GS) of the PPP, Mr. Rohee seems to focus all his attention and energy on his party affairs rather than his ministerial responsibilities thus neglecting the security for the people. Either he resigned as the GS of the PPP or as the Minister of Home Affairs, because he does not have the luxury and the intellectual capacity to carry out both functions simultaneously. Both are very demanding in time and skills which he lacks in the case of the latter.
The recent killings should force the government to return to the issue of crime, particularly as these latest murders have taken place at a time when the police claimed that the crime rate has reduced and that they have the criminals under surveillance. Is the Crime Chief and the Commissioner of Police telling the truth? Are they in denial? Do they have a plan/strategy to fight crime?  These murders remind us that not only the people lives are in jeopardy but the Minister in charge of Security has abandoned his responsibilities. This is unacceptable, something is horribly wrong.
Guyana remains, it is said and known to be a major trans-shipment site and a domestic haven for illegal drugs, a trade which has its genesis in the gun trade and is linked to murders. Every Guyanese on planet earth except for the Ramotar minority PPP regime know this. The Freedom House gang is in denial because they benefit from the drug trade and this is the primary reason why they have  not prosecuted the major drug barons in Guyana; only the drug mules are being charged.
Furthermore, the Police are highly under paid and many officers are not qualified or have the requisite skills to fight crime. Guyana has a police force that is extremely backward in collecting, coordinating, analyzing and disseminating information. They do not have a clue as to how these functions might be enhanced; and the mechanisms to review the performance and activities of the various agencies involved in National Security and crime prevention.
Finally, the police, especially the criminal investigation department (CID) do not have the oversight to tackle not only questions of crime fighting, but also that more difficult issue of their effectiveness in fighting crime and solving murders. To date, the CID has only solved three out of every five murders or 60 percent.
Except for the untouchables at Freedom House, no one else is safe in Guyana anymore.  It is clear that solving crime has been an up-hill challenge for the police and it is not in the DNA of Mr. Rohee and the PPP regime to solve crime.
Asquith Rose and Harish Singh