Rohee says no breakdown in public safety

By Michael Younge –

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee has dismissed the combined opposition’s allegations about the worrying state of law and order in Guyana, while arresting their propaganda that crime is out of control and on the increase under his stewardship of the security sector.
The minister was at the time making his contribution to the 2013 national budget debate, which got underway in the presence of a packed gallery in the National Assembly on Monday. He said that never in Guyana’s history was the spate of reforms and transformations engulfing the security sector more pronounced, as he lauded the ruling party’s effective use of policy and executive interventions to reduce crime and increase the manpower and resources available to law enforcement agencies.

Rohee urged the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) to desist from misleading Guyanese about the circumstances surrounding several developments with respect to crime and security, law and order, and public safety. He was adamant that the opposition was utilising the opportunities available in the security sector to score cheap political points,  while simultaneously damaging national good and affecting the morale and image of the men and women in uniform.
The minister, in supporting the budgetary allocations and provisions set out in the 2013 estimates, argued that never in Guyana’s history was such heightened interest paid to his sector and significant reforms piloted, as he pointed to the dismal record of the opposition with respect to public safety and crime and security.
He warned strongly against allowing the APNU to continue to undermine the efforts of the Home Affairs Ministry and the government in its fight against organised crime in Guyana.
Changing
security landscape
Rohee maintained that Guyanese continue to exhibit support for the changing security landscape and the efforts of the government aimed at curbing increased crime by providing more institutional and material support for key agencies.
He dismissed suggestions that the security sector in Guyana was in chaos and crisis as he consistently emphasised throughout his presentation that positions like these could not stand the test of scrutiny.
“If the situation is so bad, as is made out by some: that there is a total breakdown in law and order and that the crime situation has spiralled out of control, the question must therefore be asked how is there consistent growth in the economy?” he reasoned. He sought to link developments in the sector and the economy’s ability to produce in several areas referring to agriculture, tourism, health, entertainment, culture, and other non-traditional sectors. He said Guyanese felt a level of safeness and security to be able to go about their lives and to take part in building Guyana, because the environment that prevailed allowed for such.
Unjustified
Minister Rohee said the opposition’s talk about axing the budget was unjustified. He argued that the ruling party and the opposition were representing the same group of Guyanese and were seeking to distribute benefits to the poorest of Guyana’s poor, but warned that when political posturing stands in the way of reasoning and national good, one must examine one’s undertaking and the impact it will have on the people.
“There is little that separates the parties in this House. If there is any difference, Mr Speaker, between the government and opposition benches, it is obviously at the political level, but politics it is said, is a concentrated form of economics,” Rohee contested.  He said that the lack of political trust on the part of the opposition continues to undermine Guyana’s development.