Dear Editor,
Reference is made to the editorial titled “The Guyana Police Force: The stains on the ‘higher-ups’” (SN, October 22, 2024). I vehemently disagree with the take on the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Robeson Benn. By way of self-correction and to maintain civility, vehemently disagree is taken a rung or two to I quietly beg to differ. Minister Benn has been done a rank injustice, what is demeaning to a man, a minister, of his towering stature. The minister possessing a “far too laid back posture?” No way, not him! How could SN do this to a hardworking Guyanese son toiling silently in the sun?
For sure, he lacks the irrepressible garrulousness of President Ali, the scorching volubleness of Vice President Jagdeo, and the blinding verbal grandeur of Attorney General Nandlall. But Minister Benn could never be said to be “far too laid back” when the man is not laid back at all. To jog SN’s memory, was it not the same energetic and robust Minister Benn who was a virtual force of nature when a series of buildings in Guyana were demolished in different ways, and with him barely breaking a sweat. Or a smile. Laid back or laying it all on the line, while laying out some objectionable structures (and people, as an extra bonus, for no charge)? SN usually gets it right, but it is dead wrong on this one on Robeson Benn. Now, if SN’ editorial took aim at Minister Y or Minister Z, there I could understand, even applaud, but not Minister Benn.
And not again, with that other putdown: His “no big deal posture.” What is the hang-up there? Did SN run out of words, so posture had to be repeated? Attitude or responsiveness would have worked just as well, if not better, a smoother flow definitely. In all this, it is obvious that SN missed the bus and the pulse of Minister Benn, then threw him overboard. He doesn’t have the power of the president, or vice president, or attorney general, all men of patriotic principle. Nor is Minister Benn a walking cabinet all by himself. He qualifies to be a livewire and ticking clock (clock is better than that other gadget), but he is not a one-man operation. Minister Benn operates within the tight confines of a disciplined team. Minister Benn must follow orders. Minister Benn has no choice but to get with the PPP Government’s programme. One of these days, it will include security for the people, and a more organizationally secure national law enforcement presence.
Thus, he is compelled to bottle his natural instincts to fix matters in a certain summary manner, with circumstances forcing him to go with the flow. The flow is not to disrupt the flow of the Guyana Police Force. There is no telling if and when the situation could get out of hand. It is called the law of unintended consequences, on which the hon. Attorney General is the fittest to pronounce. Being a peon, I content myself with the law of the boomerang. Stick head out and it could get chopped off. The minister is nothing if not a loyal soldier. It runs in some families: all for one and one for all. To insert some subtlety into the message, I suggest that Guyanese study Minister Benn and decide if he is not a man very much focused on job security. In looking after himself first, he is then well positioned to posture in a manner more akin to the expectations of SN. I think that Minister Benn is a good man. He just got caught up in some ruff circumstances.
The unscrupulous and odious who were waiting to hear me say bad company just got their hopes dashed. I know how to deal gingerly with big peeple. If there is anybody to lash and bash in this police, ah, ups and downs, they would be those damn Yankees. When people are allowed free passage, their hot property (state of the art devices) left under their control, and the meddling Americans had minded their own business, none of these stripes would have been pasted on Minister Benn’s shirt. If SN really wishes to go after the people responsible for all this Guyana Police imbroglio, hullabaloo, ballyhoo, and doodoo, then try the interfering Yankees and not a clean-cut minister character, such as Robeson Benn. Or de PPP Guvment. Start over SN.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
