Months after bombshell revelations were made about scanty allocations from the $90 million given to the Guyana Police Force for elections-related duties, the findings of an audit into the use of the money is yet to be released, while the opposition pledges to continue to press for answers.
“We are not happy with what we have heard so far. We will continue to probe until we get answers. I will wait to see what has been written [in the Auditor General’s report] and if there are unsatisfactory responses to our questions we will pursue the matter,” Opposition Leader David Granger said recently.
It was following public pressure that it was announced that Auditor General Deodat Sharma would conduct an audit.
Sharma, when contacted several weeks ago, told Stabroek News that the information on his findings was contained in the 2011 Auditor General’s Report. Subsequently – about a week ago – that report was handed over to Speaker of National Assembly Raphael Trotman, but it contents will likely remain sealed until Parliament reconvenes this month.
Contacted late last week, Sharma said he was in a meeting and was not in physical possession of the audit results. He suggested that this newspaper make contact with him the following day to receive the information. Endless efforts were later made to contact Sharma but to no avail.
Quizzed on the issue last week, Granger expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the investigation.
He said that previously his party had argued that in the calls for the removal of the Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, “that we were not looking at a single incident, or one event. We are looking at the whole pattern of administration which has affected not only the reputation of the Police Force but its effectiveness.”
The opposition leader noted that the question of the actual expenditure of money during the election campaign ($90 million) is just one of those matters that “we brought to the public’s attention. We did not feel that the expenditure was transparent. We did not feel that there was accountability and that is why the matter first came to the public’s attention through the National Assembly.”
He told Stabroek News that his party will continue to pursue the issue during Parliament and “we intend to ensure that particularly in the field of the Guyana Police Force and in generally in the security sector that all of these matters are uncovered and we get proper explanations.”
While noting that the party is yet to make accusations against persons in relation to the money, he said the truth must be revealed. Speaking on a broader scale, he said the Guyanese people must know how the billions of dollars are being spent on public security.
‘Something we anticipated’
Meanwhile, Alliance for Change (AFC) Chairman Nigel Hughes told Stabroek News his party did not anticipate that the results of the audit would be made public in a timely manner.
He said it was now clear that the standard of credibility in the police was at “rock bottom”. Hughes, who is also an attorney, noted that seven months have passed and nothing has been released on the allegations of massive fraud within the Guyana Police Force.
Asked if this delay was expected, Hughes said, “it was something we anticipated”. Hughes went on to say that in the light of the recent incidents including the issue surrounding the allocation of the money, it was clear that the force was in a serious state and there needs to be immediate resignations, apart from Rohee’s.
He also pointed to the need to find an alternative plan to create a modern police force pointing out that since the British offer had been rejected, “we have to go back to square one”.
Hughes said his party is willing to work with the government to turn around the force only if they remove those at the top and also if those who are willing to partake in this process are identified.
In March this year, Assistant Commissioner David Ramnarine, who was the commander of E & F Division, during last year’s general elections had told a section of the media during an interview that he had not received money to take care of the police officers in his division. A total sum of $90 million was allocated for transporting and feeding police officers in country during the inline period before and after the elections.
Rohee had subsequently released a returned cheque, signed by Ramnarine, for the sum of $320,000, during a sitting of the National Assembly. Ramnarine later acknowledged the cheque. but clarified that it was left out because it was a tiny sum when compared to the millions his division should have received. He also said that he received the cheque 11 days after it was issued.
In a letter, published subsequently in this newspaper Ramnarine responded to criticisms by Rohee, triggered by his public statements on the issue. Though Rohee’s contention is that Ramnarine breached the force’s Standing Orders, Ramnarine made it clear that he spoke out because of concern over the welfare of the ranks.
He also argued that the Standing Orders do not supersede his fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Rohee went as far as to say in a statement that he had lost confidence in Ramnarine and had written to Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell, requesting “that action be taken at his level” in accordance with the Police (Discipline) Act Chap 17:01, in the light of his concerns.
