Dear Editor,
I like the Police Commissioner (ag) David Ramnarine very much; I think that he augurs well for Guyana and the future of the country.
All societies are constructed therefore they can be deconstructed and reconstructed. I firmly believe that we are at a stage where we need to do some structural deconstruction, and reconstruct a different society. However, what is needed are some ‘societal demolition experts’ who will form a critical mass or a corps of persons who are not afraid to take a stand and establish and uphold the principles and values upon which Guyana will be built for the long term.
Organisations and institutions are living entities. Let’s use the analogy of the human being as a living creature. The health of the body is primarily dependent on the functionality of its organs which is the reason why some of them are called vital organs. Similarly the health of organizations and institutions is dependent on the functionality of the systems, structures, principles and the values upon which they are built.
In the case of Guyana, the country will only be as successful or in this context, as healthy, as the organs which make it up. These organs are the justice system, the public sector, parliament, family, community, etc; the more dysfunctional these organs are, the more dysfunctional the society will be.
The application of principles in an organization serves a similar purpose as vegetables to the body; we may not like them or always want to eat them, but they are good for our health. Similarly, applying and respecting the principles might be difficult, changing the direction of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) might be a huge challenge but it is critical for the future of Guyana.
Respect for the rule of law would continue to be elusive until we fix critical organizations and institutions such as the Guyana Police Force and the justice system.
When we have reached a stage where members of our GPF are calling citizens to ask them to put $200 credit in their telephones, something is seriously wrong. It says a lot about values. Law enforcement plays a key role in developing and maintaining shared values.
As I am on the point of shared values, this is where leadership is critical in any country. While the government is not expected to solve the problems of a country, what it does, is to bring a level of leadership that should set the ‘values-standard’ for citizens to follow.
One of the worrying factors in our society is the prevalence of leaders ‒ doctors, among other professionals ‒ being allegedly associated with corrupt and other similar practices. Now how can someone study medicine for 7 years, or pursue an education for four, six or more years and sacrifice all of that for a few dollars? Nothing could be and must be more valuable than our freedoms! No amount of money! How can our leaders get to the pinnacle of their careers and then risk everything they would have worked for, for a few dollars? It comes right back to values. Why do they think that this is the quality of leadership that we deserve as a people? And I would just like to indicate that people are talking, after all there is no honour among thieves. There are five stages in a change process and the first stage is to accept that we have a problem.
Back to the Guyana Police Force, some citizens are interested in supporting members of the police force but not in an illegal way. I would therefore like to suggest that the GPF establish a ‘Citizens Police Fund’ ‒ just a suggested name. Every police station or outpost could establish an account at a bank or put in place a similar structured facility and residents from the communities where these stations or outposts are located could contribute annually towards this fund and at the end of the year, the finance could be distributed equally among the ranks whose wages and salaries are below a certain amount. This will institutionalize a process for citizens to support the work of the GPF financially while not illegally.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the traffic policeman who works outside the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Camp Street. One morning I was observing him and he was doing his job in an admirable and very professional manner.
Finally, I have been having discussions with a few of my colleagues about a public campaign, ‘Leave A Better Guyana’; the theme will be ‘I am taking responsibility for the future of Guyana’. More on this campaign will be published shortly. The overall focus will be to rebuild trust and confidence in our people and country, at the individual, institutional and societal levels. For further information please contact email address iam_guyana@yahoo. com
To the acting Commissioner, let’s ‘Leave A Better Guyana’ by taking responsibility for the future.
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
