GCCI urges Govt. to walk the walk on crime fight fight

With the murder and robbery figures in the country continuing to climb, the President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Clinton Urling believes it is time for the Government to do more than just talk about supporting the fight against crime. He believes it is time for the administration to “walk the walk”.

Speaking at the launch of the Business directory, the GCCI President said while the Opposition has been making calls for the Home Affairs Minister to demit office, he is of the view that the problems facing security in Guyana goes beyond Rohee’s presence.

He said “getting rid of Rohee will not solve the problem, you are not going to see criminals shaking in their shoes saying ‘Hey, Rohee’s gone, we need to get our act together and not commit any crimes’, I don’t see that happening.”

According to Urling, “it is about time that the government and the Ministry of Home Affairs walk the walk and stop the talking when it comes to the Guyana Police Force”.

He noted that Guyana should not have police officers working with low moral because of poor and inadequate equipment, low salaries, out of date training, among other problems “and expect miracles from them”.

Urling said there is a need to look at physical improvements, operational and strategic improvements and personnel improvements from within the Police Force. “We have to look at boosting the morale and motivating our police officers. We need, for example, to pay our police officers better. I personally recommend a 100% increase on current salaries to the police men and women tasked at providing protection for us”, he advised.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce also believes that the leadership of the Guyana Police Force ought to be examined. He said he believes that the changes in leadership should start at the very top of the Police Force since he feels that could result in the Force doing its job more effectively.

“However this must be done with the removal of the other structural impediments to the force’s efficacy… In a nutshell we need to get serious with providing more resources for physical, strategic and personnel improvements at the GPF along with changes at the top”, the GCCI President said.

The Government and the Guyana Police Force have both come under heavy criticism for the current crime situation in the country. The Opposition parties have lambasted the Government for not doing enough to effectively arrest the problem. The Government on the other hand has been blaming the Opposition for their rejection of Bills presented to the Parliament by the Minister of Home Affairs.

The Opposition have indicated that they intend to vote against measures being taken to the house by the Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee because the Government refused to act on the no confidence motion that was passed against him by the National Assembly.

Rohee has said he does not intend to leave his position and he has linked the Opposition to crime in the country without providing evidence. He has said when it comes to recommendations to fight crime in Guyana, the leading Opposition members are “barren”.

The Guyana Police Force continues to report on the climb the number of criminal events and violent crime and murders.