Government’s perspective on the crime situation in Guyana
Georgetown , GINA, February 3, 2008
As the Government works assiduously to contain the criminal activities in Guyana much is being done to advance the security of its people while addressing obstacles that might hinder and delay the process.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn and Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira all shared the view that the public, political parties and the media need to be more responsible and supportive in addressing the situation in the country.
The discussions by the Ministers which were chaired by head of the Publicity Unit at the Office of the President Dr. Prem Misir were held at the Studio of the National Communications Network (NCN) on Saturday.
Minister Anthony said it is important that the security forces remain diligent in order to respond in a timely manner.
He said Government has identified the geographical area in Buxton as one of the safe havens of criminals and therefore mechanisms are being put in place as part of an overall strategy in terms of containing crime and eventually getting rid of the criminals and criminality. [why not start at free.dumb house which we supposed is close to home]
There are no quick fixes to these problems since it is an international problem in other countries, Teixeira said.
“The view that has been perpetuated both from the public mind and the media is that somewhere out there, there is going to be a foreign Government that is going to send us troops, police force or some kind of swat team and weaponry to deal with this problem but that is a fallacy. People need to recognize that no Government is going to do that, as attempts to acquire assistance before with foreign Governments and the broader community failed dismally” said Teixeira. [this is a former minister of home affairs so she speaks eloquently of failure]The Government that has responded to the request for assistance was the British Government in terms of training members of the police force in various activities such as hostage-taking and developing better team work.
However, there was a limit to how far that would go and the public has to be reminded that Government did train and try to develop a quick reaction group, Teixeira said.
Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Government for the Security Sector Reform Plan, which includes reforming of the intelligence unit of the Police Force and also the development of an anti-crime unit and quick reaction group.
Teixeira said what is important is the improvement of the intelligence capacity since the guns alone will not be able to put an end to the crime situation and Government has to call on the Guyanese people for their support.
The Government has been working towards improving the professional capacity of the Force and in terms of training and equipment never before has the Force been so equipped as it is now.
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn said the Government has been working very hard to fulfill its Constitutional mandate and with respect to fulfilling that mandate the public safety is the responsibility of every Guyanese and ever organization in the society.
In the political framework the opposition parties and leaders have a role which clearly has to show unequivocal support for crime fighting with respect to the activities of the Police Force and the Army, Minister Benn said.
Dr. Anthony said these tragic incidents created fear in the Guyanese people and it is evident that many of the media fell into that trap that was set and started to make comments that perpetuated fear which those incidents were intended to create.
Teixeira said the media’s invasion on crime scenes and other places compromised the investigations. They should allow the police to conduct proper investigations unhindered by inconsiderate media activities.
anyone out there care to tell us why Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn and Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira are speaking on this issue and not the MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS?!!! ANYONE!! and do you notice anything in there outside the bounds of paramilitary activity? what’s the cause of rampant crime and criminality?
