A total of $24.6 billion has been proposed in this year’s budget for the security sector, according to Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, who says emphasis will be placed on rebuilding public trust.
Jordan’s proposed figure is $3. 5 billion more than what was allocated for the sector in 2015.
During his 2016 national budget presentation yesterday, there was no explanation of the modernisation measures being looked at and just how the public’s trust in the security forces – a longstanding issue- would be enhanced.
Jordan, however, told the National Assembly that public security concerns have been a “dominant and recurrent theme” since government took office last May. “The public discourse and disenchantment with the spate of criminal activities that, regrettably, punctuated our security domain prior to May 11, 2015 is an unwelcomed provocation that our government inherited. Upon our assumption to office, we resolved immediately to bring an end to this unwholesome state of affairs,” he said.
He later made a commitment on behalf of government to “unreservedly… implement policies to secure our citizens from the threat of national and transnational crime, violence and disorder. Through a series of measures and initiatives, we aim to establish an environment of enhanced human safety and public security.”
Jordan made mention of the US$15 million Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which was launched on Monday. He said that the programme will address the high incidence of violent behaviour at the community level; the low effectiveness of the police to prevent and investigate crime at the national level; and the high number of repeat offenders.
The IDB has said the CSSP activities will focus on skills training to improve community engagement as well as systems strengthening in order to more pro-actively prevent and investigate crime and violence. The programme will also finance sustainable re-entry initiatives by assessing specific needs across the prison system, developing a suitable model for rehabilitation and reintegration, and setting up a case management programme to support and track progress. In addition, at the community level crime prevention actions will target 20 communities based on homicide, burglary, robbery and domestic violence rates, while vulnerability will be addressed through social prevention interventions, the IDB has also said.
Jordan, in his budget presentation, pledged that government will equip the enforcement arms of the state with the resources to enable them to serve the citizens, engender investor confidence and build trust and goodwill in the business community.
In 2015, he recalled that $21.1 billion was spent to support the implementation of priority actions stemming from the strategic plans that were developed for the Ministry of Public Security, the Police Force, the Prisons Service and the Guyana Fire Service. He said that this year the figure has been increased for the development and modernisation of the security sector.
This year, there has been a series of gruesome murders. More than half of the number recorded have occurred in ‘B’ Division (Berbice). Police have managed to make breakthroughs and charge persons. Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has credited these successes in part to increased public confidence in the police. He said that work will continue to ensure that this confidence increases even further.
Anti-money laundering and
countering the financing of terrorism
Meanwhile, Jordan said that the government stands committed to combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism and has commenced a National Risk Assessment Exercise with Technical Assistance and guidance from the World Bank.
He informed that this exercise will see the participation and involvement of all the major stakeholders. The outcome, he noted, will facilitate the implementation of appropriate risk management and risk mitigation policy measures and the efficient allocation of financial and human resources.
Government, he said, will also be benefitting from funding from the IDB to support Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) initiatives.
According to Jordan, the process of restructuring the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has started, “to make it a more vibrant and effective unit,” in line with the functions specified in the recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He said that to this end, the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments is currently taking steps to appoint a Director and a Deputy Director for the Unit. Other technical staff will also be recruited and steps will be taken to enhance their proficiency to ensure compliance with AML/CFT laws and regulations, he added.
Recognising that these activities can have severe economic, social and political consequences for the economy, Jordan said government has been cooperating with FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) to fully comply with all outstanding deficiencies related to its AML/CFT regime and become compliant with the FATF’s Revised Recom-mendations.
He reminded the House that in 2015, the National Assembly passed legislation and guidelines on terrorism and terrorist financing and stemming from these actions, Guyana has fully satisfied five of the eight elements of its Action Plan and partially satisfied the remaining three.
In December, 2015, he said, Guyana passed further amendments and regulations, including guidelines on freezing, unfreezing and providing access to frozen funds. These actions should result in Guyana satisfying the three partially met elements of the action plan, he stated.
“It should be noted that Guyana is among eleven countries that are currently listed in the FATF Public Statement as Improving Global AML/CFT compliance: Ongoing Process. This listing is referred to as the “Light Grey List,” and it indicates that though the country has strategic deficiencies with its AML/CFT regime, it has provided a high-level of political commitment to address the deficiencies through the implementation of an action plan developed with the FATF,” he said, while adding that Guyana has been encouraged to execute the action plan expeditiously and within the proposed timeframe.
Also coming under the heading National Security was national sovereignty and economic diplomacy.
Minister Jordan told the House that the budget “has been cast in the shadow of continued threats to our sovereignty and territorial integrity.” He later stated that with the re-ordering priorities in defence of our national interests due to many acts of aggression by Venezuela, there has been “considerable financial strain on the country’s slender financial resources, forcing the delay, alteration or curtailment of several projects and programmes.”
