Various stakeholders in Berbice are calling for an immediate, independent investigation after recent allegations against a member of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) leader-ship, who has been accused of running corruption rackets in ‘B’ Division (Berbice) aided by some junior ranks.
President of the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce, Mohammed Raffik, said the fact that ranks were brave enough to break their silence to journalists means that they are thoroughly disgusted at what has been taking place. “And if the police hierarchy don’t support them and if the Public Security Ministry don’t support them, then we are looking at a situation where all kinds of things can go on in the Force and nobody would be there to police the Force itself,” he said.
“Our chamber is calling on the Ministry of Public Security and the minister himself to have an independent probe into this matter,” Raffik added. “This cannot be done by the police themselves. We are calling on the minister to launch an independent probe into these allegations and these allegations must not be investigated by the police,” he emphasised.
He said that the reason for an independent investigation is because of the seniority of the officer at the centre of the allegations.
Over the past week, Stabroek News has reported on the corruption racket allegations against the senior officer, who was previously stationed in Berbice but is now stationed in Georgetown. Several junior ranks along with a senior rank have detailed several matters and described the modus operandi of the racket which also involves some junior ranks stationed in Berbice. The ranks who spoke out have called for an independent investigation.
Raffik told Stabroek News that he believes that President David Granger should get involved. “We have seen the president getting into matters that we consider not as important as this and a lot of things happen. There was another matter where the president sanctioned an inquiry and for us, this is far more important than that first inquiry that was sanctioned by the president. We are also calling on the president to get involved in this matter. The president has a reputation of being a man that is above corruption and he should not spare anyone that is involved in corruption,” the businessman said.
According to Raffik, when the president appointed Leslie James as Commissioner of Police, he told the public that he is a “clean commissioner.”
“While the commissioner may be a man above board, the commissioner is in charge of the police force and so the commissioner and the police should not be involved in this matter. We need an independent probe and it must come from the Ministry of Public Security supported by the Office of the President,” he said
Questioned about his thoughts given that the GPF has been completely silent since the allegations were published in sections of the press including Stabroek News, Raffik said, “That speaks volumes because if something as serious as that has been printed by two major newspapers in this country and we have not heard anything from the government or the police, that in itself speaks volumes.”
Supported the call
Mohindra Persaud, the President of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also supported the call for an independent investigation. He pointed out that many times, residents are afraid to report matters to the police because they might have been aware of the collusion between ranks and criminal elements. He said journalists are the ones who often bridge the gap between victims and police. “The people don’t want to go and report but just go on like nothing happened,” he said.
Persaud added that the GPF may be silent because it is as if “their own family” is speaking out on them which may be a hard pill to swallow.
However, he stressed that there is an important and immediate need for an independent investigation to be launched so as to eradicate corruption and bring citizens and the police closer.
Ryan Alexander, Senior Vice President of the Berbice Chamber of Commerce and Development Association, said such allegations are a major concern for the business community and residents of Berbice. “I would like to say the Guyana Police Force has been restructured recently and I am expecting professionalism to prevail,” he told Stabroek News.
He too supported the call for an independent investigation, which, he said, should be sanctioned by the Minister of Public Security in conjunction with the Ministry of the Presidency. “In the effort of transparency, I think an independent investigation should be called for,” he emphasised.
Altabh Khan, the President of the Region Five Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said he believes that after such allegations, an investigation must be launched by the ministry and officers must face the consequences based on the outcome.
Regional Chairman David Armogan also echoed the calls for an independent
investigation into the matter. He said that there has always been talk of rogue police officers “who have long been giving information because we have had reports in the past where as soon as the criminals leave, then the police would come and then there [were] other instances which police would come there and protect some of these criminals. There has been many cases both in the past and present where there is collusion between these two sets of people and it’s a question of big money.”
According to the chairman, rogue police officers, who are not interested in the job but money, are easily tempted. “They give information to these criminals and protect them and they get their piece,” he alleged.
Further, Armogan said that while it could be argued that the officers are inclined to do such business for money because of their low salary, “if 90 per cent of officers are satisfied with the salary, I think it’s just the question of being a rogue cop.”
Touching on the allegations that junior ranks within Berbice are aided by a senior police officer, who is in the GPF’s leadership, Armogan said, “Well, you see some of these rogue policemen at the bottom, whenever something happen all what they do is call their bosses.”
He added, “This is a very serious matter; if police who are there to protect you are siding with criminals then we are in real trouble.
“I would ask the Minister of Security, the Commander of ‘B’ Division and the Commissioner of Police to do what it takes to get these rogue elements out of the Force…They are not only giving the police a bad name, they are creating havoc and giving a bad name to the country and to the region too.”
AFC Regional Councillor and Representative for the Office of the Prime Minister in Region Six, Gobin Harbhajan, said based on what is being reported in the press, he also sees the need for an independent investigation. He said that in order to deal with the matter head-on and for transparency, an investigation should be sanctioned by the minister.
He also pointed out that there are many hardworking and honest police officers within ‘B’ Division.
PPP/C Regional Councillor Zamal Hussain said given the fact that allegations have emerged that key police officers are in a “criminal-police network”, he supports the launch of an immediate inquiry independent of the GPF.
“I think it should be impartial because some key officer in the police force is being linked with the junior officers in a network with the criminals…This is very worrying for residents of Region Six and the Minister of Security should ensure we have an independent inquiry and whatever comes out from this inquiry, serious steps should be taken deal with them,” he said.
“Also, I have put it in the press already that the Police Service Commission has planted various persons in divisions to support the government of the day and I think certain policemen are being sidelined because they are not cooperating with these high level ranks,” he claimed.
Stabroek News was initially told by a source that an investigation was being carried out by senior ranks within ‘B’ Division. However, the GPF is yet to confirm this or issue any statement regarding the matter.
