The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday accused the presidential candidate of the APNU+AFC coalition of “conveniently ignoring” the good work that the government had done in the security sector.
In a three-page press release, the ministry blamed Granger’s behaviour on politics.
“Mr David Granger is either blind or deaf. He has conveniently ignored, as he is wont to do, the significant investments and progress government has made in the security sector,” the release said before accusing Granger of taking this stance for political reasons and choosing to make the security sector “a political football”.
The ministry alluded to a December 23, 2014 police press release in which the force appealed to members of political parties to desist using the police for political mileage.
“Mr Granger likes to set himself up as the guru for the security sector in Guyana and tries to convince the nation that no one else but he has all the answers to the security situation in our country ignoring all accomplishments and investments done since 1992 by the PPP/C administration,” the release said.
According to the release Granger’s security advisor Winston Felix is very much aware of these facts.
The ministry went on to state that Granger has made several erroneous comments which must be addressed so that the public can be better informed of the efforts government is making in the area of public safety and security.
It was stated that firstly on the piracy situation, it is a well–established fact that a Guyana Police Force marine floating base was commissioned to operate collaboratively with ranks of other Law Enforcement Agencies and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) which has a similar floating base located at the mouth of the Pomeroon River.” The release stated that this $49.9 million capital investment was complimented by the procurement of a boat imported from the US costing $71.4 million in addition to four new vessels built at a cost of $4.9 million. “Government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to public safety and security and this is evident in capacity-building by way of training provided to the marine wing of the force,” the release said adding that it should also be noted that instances of piracy has dropped significantly within the past months.
According to the ministry, Guyana’s collaborative efforts with those of Suriname have contributed significantly to the reduction in instances of piracy on the Corentyne River
The second point that the public should be aware of, the release said is the fact that all previous strategic plans developed during government’s engagement with local and overseas consultants have been subsumed in the current strategic plan whose implementation is being overseen by the civilian composed Strategic Management Department. The Ministry of Home Affairs is awaiting resources to further engage the UK-based Capita Symonds Consultancy to implement four additional areas which are critical to building the institutional capacity of the Guyana Police Force, the release said, adding that it should be noted that the move by the opposition to challenge in court the disbursement of resources from the IDB Security Sector Loan will again “stymie the implementation of plans for the achievement of our primary objective of providing comprehensive citizen security sector for all Guyanese.”
The third point of clarity for the ministry is that the recommendations of the Disciplined Services Commission (DSC) are being implemented. Recent presentations by the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Fire Service, and the Guyana Prison Service, the release said gave status updates on the progress each agency is making towards the full realization of those recommendations.
The Progress Report was circulated to Members of the National Assembly in June 2014.
“David Granger is entitled to his opinion, but not to his own facts in this matter. It is therefore disingenuous for him to pontificate and attempt to pronounce on any of the above issues in the manner that in which he is attempting to so do,” the release added.
