The $20.8M water cannon failed to make an impact during Thursday’s unrest on the Agricola public road as the force of the water it ejected was not powerful enough to disperse the crowd but instead soaked policemen who were standing in front of it.
The cannon which was handed over to the Guyana Police Force last November was however used later to put out small fires that were burning on the roadway.
During a Prime News report on the protest which was aired last evening, there was footage of the water canon in action. It was positioned behind a line of policemen holding riot shields who were stretched out across both sides of the roadway a short distance from the entrance to the East Bank Demerara community. The footage showed when the water cannon made a failed attempt to disperse the crowd. The water that came out of the canon just soaked the protestors but did not push them away as it is suppose to. The water also soaked the policemen who were standing in front of it.
After the failed attempt to disperse the crowd, the protestors continued pelting bottles, bricks and pieces of burning wood in the direction of the policemen and the water cannon. While at the scene on Thursday, this newspaper noticed the water cannon driving up the western carriageway of the road with its siren on around 5:30 pm.
A security expert when contacted last evening said that the multimillion dollar piece of equipment was clearly a waste of money and it would probably cost millions more to have it refurbished to some sort of usefulness.
According to the expert, from all indications it was not bought in the best interest of the force but rather for someone’s “friend” to benefit.
The expert noted that Guyana has never had such a crowd control tool before and as such if there was any seriousness in its purchase, training of ranks and information gathering from a reputable manufacturer would have been at the top of the list.
“The whole acquisition was wrong. It just didn’t make any sense”, the expert said noting that Linden was another example of where it failed.
The expert said that that the water cannon was so defective it could not even make the trip to the mining town on its own instead it had to be transported on a low bed truck. The expert added that when it arrived and was about to be put into action, the water was leaking from all directions.
Stabroek News was told that these are clear indications that it was a bad product and as such it might be unwise to rehabilitate it. According to the expert, parts for it would be an issue and importing these will be very expensive.
“It ready for the scrap yard. It wouldn’t make any sense to rehabilitate it. It was a waste of the Guyanese money”, the expert declared.
In May 2010, the Ministry invited persons to bid for the opportunity to provide the force with an armoured water cannon truck. $37M was set aside in the National Budget for its purchase.
It was later purchased by the Guyana Government from China and was delivered in 2011.
In a bid to quell the growing criticisms about its ability, the water canon was placed on its first public demonstration in June. During the exercise which was held in the National Park police recruits played the part of disorderly protestors. After a few missed firings, the force of the water hit the recruits and some were swept off their feet.
Minister Clement Rohee in response to questions submitted by APNU MP shadow Home Affairs Minister Winston Felix told the National Assembly in July that the water cannon is in working order and located at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) Drill Square at Eve Leary, Georgetown.
This newspaper was told that it was out of operation for several months and had to be left parked on the tarmac at the Tactical Services Unit (TSU) because it needed a part. Sources had said that this was the reason why it was not present during an APNU protest shortly after the election last year during which several persons were shot and injured by the police.
