The Home Affairs Ministry and the Ogle Airport Incorporated (OAI) on Monday, January 30, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which seeks to establish a special airport security monitoring committee to address various flaws and security breaches at the port of entry.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and OAI Chairman Michael Correira exchanging copies of the MoU after the signing
The MoU also seeks to promote and foster clarity of functions, streamlining of operations, avoidance, smooth and rapid action and reaction to critical situations, and the reduction and eventual removal of administrative glitches.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee stated that with the many security related incidents occurring in the international and national aviation industry, he confirmed that security has become more important than ever, in the management of the airports. “The drug and other criminal threats to national aviation are clearly shared challenges that make aviation security a shared responsibility”, he disclosed. This, he noted, required that application of shared solutions.
Rohee commended the OAI authorities for their cooperation and assistance and measures already taken during the preparation of the Memorandum of Understanding. He said it will help to improve the country’s national security, through enhanced information sharing and stronger standards intended to reduce crime in the industry and ensure safer air travel.
He said the security situation at the Ogle Airport Inc now demands a well integrated approach. Physical and information security, he noted, must be covered by a fully integrated inter-agency approach. “We need to find a comprehensive portfolio of security systems and services to reduce the prevailing security flaws and breaches”, Rohee added. He noted that the history of airport security suggests that tightening one component leaves determined criminals to seek and exploit weaknesses in other components.
“But attempts to plug all potential holes in airport security would burden and disrupt the already overstressed airport and air traffic systems; that criminals will be handed the victory they seek. Such attempts might also have the unintended results of creating too rigid a system”, the minister said. Hence he noted that there needs to be a system that is flexible to meet anticipated security threats with timely and appropriate responses. Such a system he noted should see priority be given to timely intelligence and probable criminal elements and threats, scenarios continuously disseminated to the appropriate authorities.
To date, he reiterated that the internal security system at Ogle is constrained by the limited ability to access accurate, systematically collected and processed information from national law enforcement agencies and limited security staff. He said that although efforts have been made at the governmental level to share classified information with OAI security, a lack of standardisation and consistency has hampered communication.
“The MoU was devised to reduce these difficulties; national law enforcement officers will meet regularly with Ogle Airport authorities to discuss principles and exchange national and local threat information; status of current operation and other matters of mutual interest”, Rohee stated. This will benefit the agencies mentioned in the MoU from the expanded network created and avail themselves of the opportunities to be better woven into the tapestry of airport related security, the minister added. Chairman, of the OAI, Michael Correira in his address pointed out that the Ogle Airport Incorporated project is a public/ private partnership being developed by the private sector and the government of Guyana. He noted that it is one of the first investments of this kind in Guyana and its successes and failures can be instructive for government to review.
