Guyana could start receiving funding from a resuscitated United Kingdom security sector reform programme by the end of the year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge says.
“I believe that I am in order in saying, although the specifics are to be settled by the office of the president and the advisor, that exercise will be completed before yearend, and there will be arrangements for some part of those funds to be disbursed before the end of the year,” Greenidge told a press conference yesterday.
A previous US$4.7 million project collapsed in 2009 following differences between the then PPP/C government and London. In June last year, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the UK’s Foreign and Common-wealth Office James Duddridge had told reporters that he would have presented a document on security reform to government for its consideration.
He had explained that it entailed “a piece of analysis around the current state of the security sector and what could the potential action plan be taking forward different elements of security sector reform and specifically how the UK government could assist in that action plan.”
Soon after winning the May 2015 general election, President David Granger had revealed that government had approached the British to have the rejected Security Sector Reform Action Plan (SSRAP) back on the cards in the wake of the country’s ongoing battle with crime.
Then late last year, the Ministry of the Presidency announced that a security advisor from the UK was expected to assist the country with security reforms and he would be working closely with the administration on the implementation of the SSRAP.
Greenidge explained that on President Granger’s recent trip to the United Kingdom discussions were continued with the relevant officials on the SSRAP’s implementation.
The recent bilaterals he said, were to, “…secure those areas that they, even at that time, had identified as necessary for Guyana to secure external support, and which Britain was ready to provide…”
“So that security arrangement is to be re-activated and it was the mechanics of that that was under discussion,” he added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed to an expert that London had sent here to assess the security sector, saying that he will form the advice on the way forward as it pertains to priority aspects.
“There is currently an expert here who is looking at the modalities of getting it (the programme) in place to see, as of now, what exactly is needed and how much of that money could be utilized and what should be the priorities.
That is what should be changed as compared to 2007,” he asserted.
British security expert Lt Col (rtd) Russell Combe came to Guyana in January of this year to undertake a needs assessment, which will guide government on the priority areas and best institutional arrangements to ensure Guyana’s security sector is strengthened, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had said.
Ramjattan said that Combe’s visits included the prisons and police stations in a number of regions where he asked questions.
“It is a very comprehensive survey of all the organizations, I understand that he is doing and he will advise afterwards but we need that kind of independent assessor and that is what is forthcoming from the security advisor …and I am hoping that we are going to have some really great recommendations, some very frank and full recommendations as to what ought to be done with a security sector that is by the way getting better,” he said.
