Govt.’s Public Security plan a total disaster – PPP

Given the current crime situation in the country, the main Parliamentary Opposition – the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) – is describing the government’s current Public Security plan as “a total disaster”.

PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee (left) and Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan

General Secretary of the Party, Clement Rohee, expressed this view during a press conference hosted at the party’s headquarters, Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown yesterday.
Rohee, also a former minister responsible of security under the previous administration, stated that the PPP/C is “appalled at government’s inability to recognize its failure to match its words with its deeds”.
Also, he claimed that the operative trait of the APNU+AFC coalition administration “seems to be deception” with a case in point being its crime and public safety, and security policy.
Referencing A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC)’s General Elections Manifesto, where the coalition had formulated a 27-point Action Plan “to address the breakdown of law and order” – Rohee stressed that “most of these have not been implemented”.
“The PNC (the People’s National Congress) has ignored many of the actions contemplated, since they are a rehash from the AFC’s 2011 Action Plan for Guyana. Practice being the criterion of truth, it is clear that the Granger administration’s public security plan is a total disaster. Whatever the security experts at the Ministry of the Presidency have coughed up to fight crime has not worked.”

PUBLIC PERCEPTION VS. POLICE STATS
Rohee said in his assessment, crimes committed with the use of illegal firearms, gang-related assaults and narcotics trafficking have pushed up the rate of serious crime.
However, his remarks are contrary to police’s statistics which continue to show a decrease in serious crimes.
In this regard, Rohee said that there will always be a contest between the public’s perception and the police statistics.
“People bend towards public perception and regardless of the statistics, public perception will always contest,” he said.
Rohee heavily criticised the functioning of the National Security Committee (NSC) and the joint service anti-crime and counter terrorism, Operation Dragnet.
He also opined that the PPP can assist the government in its effort to curb the crime situation and issued a call on the David Granger-led administration to activate the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Public Safety and Security.
This committee, Rohee said, was set up before the last elections and the administration failed to set it in motion.
He continued that after the coalition government assumed office last year May, they told Guyanese that the crime situation would be brought under control.
And later, the nation was also informed that a five-point anti-crime strategy was being crafted, however the plan began shuttling amongst the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Public Security, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force, Rohee stated.
“Guyanese were informed that the plan was to be made public and laid in the National Assembly. The plan never saw the light of day. And as if to add insult to injury, Guyanese were informed that the five-point anti-crime strategy was subsumed in Operation Dragnet,” Rohee said.

OPERATION DRAGNET WAS DOOMED TO FAIL
Rohee emphatically stated that Operation Dragnet was “doomed to fail” mainly due to government’s “interference” in law enforcement operations. He said that neither the government nor the Guyana Police Force will admit that the crime situation is out of control or that they are losing the war on crime.
“The same applies to the Minister of Public Security (Khemraj Ramjattan) whose portfolio responsibilities are now shared with the Ministry of the Presidency and is virtually in tatters, despite his efforts to shore up its sagging image.”
Rohee stated that “bad man” Ramjattan’s solution to tackle crime in Berbice has failed. He continued that in August last year, Ramjattan publicly announced that he dispatched a SWAT team, along with about forty ranks of the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force, to deal with the crime situation in Berbice.
“However, as far as Berbicians are concerned, this has been totally ineffective,” Rohee said.
“To attack Berbicians calling them ‘ungrateful’ will only infuriate Berbicians more…The government lacks the courage and political will to admit its mistakes and that it has changed course on its electoral promises and shaky initiatives earlier announced. Instead, it prefers to keep flip-flopping in an effort to prove it can govern.” Rohee concluded.