April 25, 2021
President Irfaan Ali on Friday said that significant effort is being made to improve local security and reduce crime.
“A lot is going on but security still remains a work in progress,” Ali told the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
In what appeared to be a gentle rebuke of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), which on the previous day expressed “tremendous concern” about “the escalating rate of crime that is occurring in Guyana,” Ali suggested that it would be better to communicate “with each other” rather than issue public criticisms.
The Chamber in a brief statement called on the authorities to take stern actions against the criminal elements and ramp up its crime fighting campaign since an increasing rate of criminal activities against the business community has created an air of fear.
In response, Ali acknowledged that “security is a key issue for the private
sector” and said that as President he welcomed constructive criticism.
“Even if it is not constructive I recognize your democratic right to criticise but sometimes we have to understand the implications of our actions”, he said, while stressing that government is not satisfied with one category of crime and acknowledging that resources are limited to manage the threat.
“The added threat of the COVID19 pandemic has made it more difficult [but] government has recognised the importance of protecting its people, property and life. All efforts and hands are on deck to address the mechanism to equip law enforcement with necessary tools, equipment and training to make their duties successful,” he assured.
Ali went on to remind that $15 billion has been allocated to the security sector in 2021 and plans are already underway to ensure that resources, both human and financial, are targeted to get the best possible result.
A key component of this plan, he added, is the setting up of Command Centres, operated by the police, in high crime areas.
The President stressed that collaboration with the Private Sector is needed to effectively combat crime.
“That is why, at the regional level, at police stations level themselves, we are now establishing management committees that involve civil society, involve the private sector in providing that oversight at the station level,” he said.
He emphasised that resolving the issue of crime calls for innovative thinking, partnership and proactive work.
According to Ali, he had already suggested to members of the GCCI that businesses within high crime areas, such as central Georgetown, could co-operate to fund patrols that would work in conjunction with the Guyana Police Force.
“I threw out a challenge to them…invest in two cars, the government will take care of the duty free. They can have a security service assigned to the cars and we can also assign police officers to do patrols. When you work out the cost it might be $5000 to every business owner for a month but we got no response,” he lamented.