Dear Editor,
I am pleased that Prison Director Gladwin Samuels, a young professional for whom I have tremendous respect, has been able to identify and get rid of five of the corrupt prison wardens involved in the smuggling of contraband into these prisons; for he is often expected to manage the prison population with insufficient resources and personnel.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that basic requirements to secure any prison facility are high-definition surveillance systems and the use of full-body scanners at the entrance of every prison facility. Whatever the cost, these security measures must be procured and installed immediately; the Prison Director should not have to wait on the 2019 Budget to get this done. All Minister Ramjattan needs to do is to come to Parliament with a Supplementary Budget. Government does this all the time for far less urgent matters.
Since 2015, the state of the economy has declined rapidly; over 25,000 jobs have been lost, and higher taxes have been imposed on the people. For most families, there is little or no disposable income left after paying utility bills, rent/mortgage, and living expenses. The lack of jobs and high cost of living may be tempting some to engage in criminal activities to provide for their families. After all, desperate people are known to do desperate things.
On June 29, Minister Ramjattan got his face on the front page of the Guyana Chronicle with a caption that shamelessly reads, “Gov’t makes ‘half-a-mil’ in pay-outs”. The article covered the presentation of a one-off payment by Government of a meagre G$100,000 each to five families of Guyanese fisher-men who were brutally murdered by pirates off the coast of Suriname. But this was done only after the PPP had brought a Motion in Parliament urging the Government to offer financial support to these families, for Ramjattan had made it clear to them in Suriname that they should expect none.
It would have been kinder if Government had increased this amount to G$300,000 each, the estimated cost of a decent funeral. Nevertheless, I’m sure Minister Ramjattan was happy to be seen in a positive light at a time when just about everyone questions his ability to get the job done. How many more victims must be shot? How many more lives must be lost? How many more cars stolen? How many more businesses must be robbed? How many more Guyanese must be discouraged from returning home? How many youths must be forced into a life of crime? And how many more families must be deprived of their life’s savings before the Hon Minister of Public Security realises that he has failed to protect the Guyanese people, and is totally unsuitable to serve in that capacity?
When will Minister Ramjattan finally accept ministerial responsibility and resign? Will he ever?
Sincerely,
Harry Gill
PPP Member of
Parliament