Calls mount for No-confidence Motion against Ramjattan

…over rising crime wave

By Devina Samaroo

With the crime situation spiralling out of control, calls are being mounted for the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Opposition to declare a No-Confidence Motion against Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, given his evident inability to get a grip on the crime situation in the country.

In fact, newly-appointed PPP/C Member of Parliament (MP) Cornel Damon declared in the National Assembly on Wednesday that Ramjattan needed to go since the Ministry was failing miserably to reduce or even stabilise the soaring crime rate.

“The Honourable Member has no plan to fight the surge of crime and the senseless killings of our businessmen and women and so the Honourable Minister Ramjattan must go,” Damon exclaimed.

The politician pointed out that in the 10th Parliament, it was Ramjattan who engineered calls for then Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to go when the crime rate was 40 per cent lower than it is today.

Former President Donald Ramotar, during an interview with the Guyana Times International, also contended that the Ministry has not performed at all in the area of crime fighting, noting that the A Partnership for National Unity/ Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has yet again failed the Guyanese people.

“When they were in Opposition they claim to know everything, but they are clearly not grappling with the problem that has been created,” Ramotar stated.

He asserted that the coalition Government was to be blamed for the current situation because when it was in Opposition, it established a record of defending criminals and now that it was in Executive Office, the individuals now feel more empowered to commit felonies.

“It might be too early but what I would say is that the whole Government seems to be completely at sea, they are not handling the economy or the crime situation, they are not handling anything with any level of competence,” Ramotar asserted.

Private Sector concerned

Also, the Private Sector already expressed its concern over the crime situation and Government’s apparent lack of vigour in dealing with the matter.

Chairman of the Berbice Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCCI), Rajnauth Ramroop noted that Government seemed to be taking the situation lightly. “My assessment of their performance, I would want to say, it is not to par; the public is expecting much more… The escalation of the crime at recent has brought a lot of concern. Of course it was there all the time, but it has escalated as of lately…it’s not something that the public could tolerate,” the business expert said.

Owing to the current crime rate, many businesses are experiencing hardship. “Because of these concerns, a lot of businesses are contemplating migration. Consumers are not coming out to shop because there is a fear. Businessmen are hesitant to stock up. For that matter, I am a businessman myself and I have not travelled for the year to procure goods because the traffic is not there as it used to be, so why stock when you don’t have people coming in to buy?” he explained, contending that the Government needed to do much more.

The first call for a No-Confidence Motion was made by Associate Professor of Political Science at Nassau Community College, Dr Baytoram Ramharack, in his latest column in the Guyana Times.

Dr Ramharack said the crime situation in Guyana, particularly in Berbice, has risen to unacceptable heights and believed that a change in management of the security sector may see a change for the better.

On Friday last, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) disclosed that serious crimes erupted by a startling 10 per cent by the end of July 2015 in comparison to the same period in 2014.

Among the “serious crimes” listed by the Force are murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape, and kidnapping.

The Force stated that a total of 94 murders were recorded at the end of July 2015 in comparison to 80 at the end of July 2014, which saw an increase of 18 per cent.  Four more murders were recorded up to August 13 taking the toll to 98 for the year thus far.