President David Granger says drug trafficking is a key progenitor of crime and he pledged to bring it to an end.
Responding to questions on last week’s edition of the Public Interest television programme, Granger said that while his government is open to criticism, he believes that a claim by the main opposition that his government seems unable to handle crime which is everywhere is unfair.
‘We don’t ignore criticism and we respond to criticism by trying to solve problems,” the president said, noting that former Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, who has been a very vocal critic, received during his tenure a dozen reports and recommendations from the British Government which he rejected. Included among the rejected programmes was a Security Sector Reform project which his government will be resuscitating.
Granger explained that a team from the United Kingdom will be coming to Guyana to resume the programme which the previous administration rejected in 2009 after Cabi-net Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had signed the proposal document.
Asked to explain how his government is addressing domestic security concerns, Granger said that they are examining the cause of local crimes many of which can be linked to narco-trafficking.
“Many of the serious crimes we see have their origin in that period when it was clear that drug lords were committing offences,” he said, adding that narco-trafficking is the mother of all crimes since the large sums of money generated from this activity can be used to finance other crimes, “order executions recruit foot soldiers and bribe police officers.”
Granger’s remarks on drugs came in the aftermath of the escape of now-convicted drug trafficker, Barry Dataram from the jurisdiction.
As long as drugs keep coming into the country it would be very difficult to control crime, the Head of State said before acknowledging that a large percentage of local crime is also due to inter-personal violence as represented by domestic cases such as land issues, personal vendettas and husband and wife strife.
“There is not one answer but we must look at the causes and that is what the administration is looking at, finding causes,” he stressed.
He also highlighted initiatives at the national and community level which are expected to address crime.
At the national level the Government of Guyana and the Defence and Police Force are working to secure borders and minimise trafficking in narcotics and persons while at the community level they are strengthening the police force and their ability to patrol.
“We do not have the resources. We do not have the aircraft to patrol our borders, we do not have the ships to patrol our sea space, we do not have the vehicles to control the land space to bring these crimes to an end but we are working on it. We are trying to help the police be able to get where the crimes occur,” he said.
Community policing is also part of the response as persons at that level are being asked to help protect women and children.
“I am worried about statutory rapes which can lead to murders and arson and hope to identify and prevent these at the level of the community,” he said.
Asked what his government has done specifically to dismantle major narco-trafficking rings during its 16- month tenure Granger said that it is not enough to look at the last 16 months.
“You cannot ignore the fact that this has built up over the last 16 years. We have established the National Anti-Narcotic Agency under Major General (Michael) Atherly and are having more frequent engagements with the National Security Committee which every week examines conduct of the anti -narcotics unit of the police, GRA and Customs,” he said, adding that recent large drug busts in the UK and Jamaica in which Guyana has co-operated can be seen as successes.
“We have set up the institutions. The National Drug Strategy is being re-issued. We are conducting investigations into an aircraft coming into our airspace and taking other measures to make sure that narco-trafficking comes to an end. I personally chair the National Security Committee every week. We won’t take extreme measures but we are definitely going to bring narco-trafficking to an end,” he said.
