Felix says Government not serious about fighting river piracy

Member of Parliament for the Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity and former Police Commissioner Winston Felix is convinced that the Government of Guyana is not serious about tackling the problem of piracy that has been haunting local fishermen over the years.

Felix appeared on 90.1 FM’s Hard Talk on Sunday and lambasted the administration for its failure to provide the police with adequate resources to tackle piracy on the high seas.

Over the past few years, there has been an upsurge in the attack of fishermen while out at sea plying their trade. There have been cases of fishermen being robbed and murdered by pirates and while the government has said it is committed to tackling the problem, the former Top Cop believes its time for less talk and more action.

Felix said “the government has not even provided the Police with a proper vessel to protect our fishermen”. He noted that the Police Force lacks basic resources to patrol the many rivers across Guyana and its an issue that must be addressed.

“The Commissioner can do nothing unless he has resources, so if there are no vessels or appropriate vessels, the police cannot do their work”, Mr. Felix said.

A few years ago, the Government had purchased a luxury jet boat for the Police Marine Unit but it was soon discovered that the vessel could not work properly under certain conditions. It was never put into operation. According to Felix, the administration “wasted $16 Million” on the purchase of the boat since it had no use for the Guyana Police Force and could not have been put into operation. The Fishermen, he said, have been left facing the same problems.

Felix said the Government has got to start allowing the Police Force to make its own purchases and be consulted properly when purchases are being made for equipment.

At a recent Police Officer’s Conference, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee told junior officers that “The country’s fishermen, over the recent past, have been suffering at the hands of pirates who have attacked, robbed and killed many of them. Yet, the Guyana Police lacks the institutional capacity to respond to the reports of piracy and successfully investigate them”.

Filed: 7th October, 2014