Former home affairs minister Clement Rohee yesterday accused the Stabroek News of attempting to “sugar coat the poor management of the security sector” of the current administration in its July 9 editorial, which was critical of his tenure as minister.
At the PPP’s regular Monday press briefing at Freedom House, Rohee, who is also the party’s general secretary, said that in his opinion, the editorial sought to “shelter” the government’s mishandling of the security sector.
“The Stabroek News editorial sought to shelter the new government in general and [Public Security Minister Khemraj] Ramjattan in particular from facing the brunt of the PPP’s caustic remarks,” as regards the mishandling of citizen’s security by drumming up sympathy for Ramjattan while shunning the real issue at hand, Rohee said.
The editorial had addressed Rohee’s criticism of the Public Security Ministry’s initiative to close bars and night clubs at 2 am in an attempt to curb the rising crime rates. The editorial stated,“Bar and club owners and their patrons are obviously against it. Some long-suffering Guyanese, who have faced noise nuisances and having their entrances blocked by drinkers’ vehicles are for it. Others feel it could have benefited from consultation, but the former home minister is the only one so far who sees it as a violation of the Guyanese culture.”
It added, “It was under Mr Rohee’s tenure as home affairs minister—2006 to 2015—that gun crimes reached their peak and tipped over. Cocaine and marijuana smuggling also blossomed, feeding an underground economy that has been noticed and commented on the world over.”
The editorial also noted that former police commissioner Henry Greene had said in 2010 that the police force had recognized a link between the upsurge in armed robberies for hard cash and big entertainment shows headlined by international artists during the July/ August period, but that nothing had been done with this information.
Reading from a prepared statement, Rohee said yesterday, “It is neither fair nor balanced for the Stabroek News to be apologetic nor to be in concubinage with any government minister especially in Mr Ramjattan’s case given his failure to put forward a progressive and comprehensive citizen’s security plan like the PPP/C did. Mr Ramjattan should draft one, consult with the relevant stakeholders, including the National Commission for Law and Order, take it to Cabinet for consideration, and if approved, have it published after sending it to the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders for implementation.”
He further criticized the method by which the government is moving forward with its security initiative stating, “Instead of presenting a draft strategy to [President David] Granger, his boss, Granger presents one to Ramjattan and instructs him like the dutiful servant to go refine and implement it. We look forward to learning whether Ramjattan’s latest proposal for a dog and pony show will find favour with the security experts ensconced at the Ministry of the Presidency.”
He claimed too that the government’s five-part security strategy to be implemented soon was “replete with the same elements the PPP/C was implementing through the Ministry of Home Affairs under the minister who they so badly wanted to see leave.”
Speaking at a press conference on July 7, Rohee had said that the 70-year-old law which sets a time limit on liquor sales was “not Guyanese,” and that he had chosen not to enforce it during his tenure because Guyana was “a very open and relaxed country.” He had also claimed that there was no scientific data linking the hours of operations of nightspots and crime rates.
However, the editorial pointed out that there was data linking “the overindulgence in alcohol to domestic violence, fatal accidents, loss of production in workplaces and chronic non-communicable diseases, all of which impact the national purse and have implications for the nation as a whole.” And it questioned how the former minister could ignore such facts.
