The Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Friday said it expressed grave concern during a recent meeting with Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan at what it said was the “underfunding” by government of the police, prison and fire services.
Following the meeting the PSC said it dispatched a letter to the minister documenting its concerns along with its recommendations. In a release on Friday, the PSC said that among the Guyana Prison Service issues addressed were the lack of adequate transportation; the general conditions under which prisoners are being held especially at the Lusignan Prison since the fire at the Georgetown Prison last year and the threat posed to prison warders as a result of these conditions. It also cited the lack of smoke detectors which would enable early warning of any fires at the various prisons.
The PSC delegation, led by its Chairman Desmond Sears, lauded the Public Security Ministry for recent improvements which have been made within the prison system with regard to the supply of water and the upgraded road leading to the Lusignan Prison.
However, the PSC registered its grave concern at the “underfunding by central government of the police, prison and fire services”.
On the issue of the lack of transportation the chairman of the Governance Sub-committee of the PSC, Capt. Gerald Gouveia said that since the fire at the Georgetown Prisons “there is no kitchen there and food has to be transported daily from Lusignan. I am advised that quite often the food arrives hours late and in some cases is spoilt when it gets to Georgetown,” Gouveia said. He also referenced the lack of transportation at the New Amsterdam Prisons which affected the timely movement of prisoners to the Court and for medical attention.
In this connection the PSC recommended that some of the buses currently at the Guyana Defence Force Camp Ayanganna headquarters should be relocated to the Guyana Prison Service to alleviate the critical logistics problems which it faces.
The release said that Ramjattan pointed to a number of constraints which his ministry faces as well as identified a series of initiatives upon which it has embarked in an effort to resolve some of the issues.
