No Meeting of Parliamentary Security Oversight Committee in three years -Ramjattan

The AFC Leader said the Coalition, while in Office, acted on many of the recommendations coming out of the Parliamentary Security Sector Committee. He said in the absence of the committee, the Opposition is unable to effectively scrutinize the sector.

No Meeting of Parliamentary Security Oversight Committee in three years -Ramjattan

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), and former Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, believes that the nation is in the dark about the security issues plaguing the country with there being no meeting of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector in some three years.

“We did our first meeting in 2020, formed the committee, and never there after for the last three years, have we gotten any other meeting convened by the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn. Whereas, in our term in office, every thing that the then PPP, in opposition, wanted to get, they could have asked, and as soon as they asked, I convened a Public Security Sector Committee Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee, and they demanded that Seelall Persaud come, and Seelall Persaud came and was cross-examined him about almost everything about the police force,” MP Ramjattan said.

The AFC Leader said the Coalition, while in Office, acted on many of the recommendations coming out of the Parliamentary Security Sector Committee. He said in the absence of the committee, the Opposition is unable to effectively scrutinize the sector.

“Benn ain’t call that thing for the last three years, after the setting up of the Committee. So, the scrutiny that an opposition can bring to a ministry and how the ministry is doing its work has all now been absent completely as a result of the dysfunction or non-function of that Parliamentary Security Committee,” he said.

The former Public Security Minister said the issue involving the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mae Toussaint Jr Thomas, in which her phone was seized by the US, authorities and U.S visa revoked, should have been deliberated upon at the level of the Parliamentary Committee.

He said too that serious crimes including the trafficking of guns and ammunition, and armed robberies are among issues that ought to be discussed at the level of the parliamentary committee, however, with no meeting of the Committee, the Opposition is left in the dark.

Late last month, the acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, reported that serious crimes in the country had fallen by 8.4% but Mr Ramjattan, who served as Minister of Public Security under the David Granger Administration, said the crime rate as described by the Guyana Police Force is not reflective of the situation on the ground.

“A lot of people do not report that they have been robbed,” the AFC Leader said while explaining that not so long ago, he came into contact with two individuals from Region Three, who were robbed of more than $30,000 while visiting the city. He said due to the lengthy time it takes to report such a crime, the victims opted not to file a police report.

He said while there is a clear case of under reporting, there is a possibility that the statistics are also being manipulated.

MP Ramjattan also recalled that under his stewardship, the Ministry of Public Security, in partnership with the United Kingdom, rolled out the Security Sector Reform Programme. However, he said many of the recommendations submitted by British Security Expert, Russel Combe, have been shelved.

“We were supposed to have something called a change board, that was supposed to implement all those recommendations. I understand now that nothing has happened, everything has collapsed,” he said.

 MP Ramjattan said Home Affairs Minister must do more to improve the operations of the security forces, to enhance public safety and security.

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