Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee says national security is not under threat even as the business community grows uneasy over the seeming upsurge in crime recently.
Rohee sought to reassure members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) at a meeting yesterday with GINA reporting him as saying that “national security remains intact” and that the Disciplined Services were equipped to deal with criminal gangs.
“The Guyana Defence Force, Guyana Prison Service, Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Fire Service are all up to speed to deal with any threat to the stability of the state,” Rohee said.
According to GINA, Rohee acknowledged that there was a public perception of an upsurge in crime while adding that people needed to look at what the statistics showed and weigh the perceptions against them.
He said his ministry is prepared to listen to persons who may have various perceptions of what the security situation is whether on the coastland, the interior or any other part of Guyana. Rohee refuted reports that the situation was spiralling out of control and that the country was returning to the state it was in a decade ago. Additionally, he called on the PSC members to seek solutions and to work on addressing common interests.
PSC Chairman Ramesh Dookhoo registered their concern about the domestic and commercial type robberies occurring, adding that there was a sense of growing concern and discomfort, GINA said.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the PSC’s Governance and Security sub-sector Gerry Gouveia is reported as saying that the body had discussed the issue of police mobility and asked government to address both rapid response mobility and air mobility. This, he said, was needed especially in light of the challenges posed by dealing with crimes seemingly focused in the hinterland.
Police Commissioner Henry Greene, Deputy Commissioner David Ramnarine, and other senior members of the police force were also at the meeting which included representatives from the mining, forestry and shipping sectors.
