Rohee condemns opposition’s shortsightedness

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee had chided the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) for rejecting major reforms of the security sector.
The minister reacting to the opposition’s posture said, “they fail to see the forest and are only looking at the trees… you cannot deal with crime if you do not address certain reforms within the institution that is tasked legally and constitutionally with the responsibility to address those problems.”
On December 31, 2012, Minister Rohee hosted a special forum where he outlined in great detail, the reforms that will be embarked on so as to improve the overall functioning of the security sector.
Subsequently, both the APNU and the AFC declared that they will not be supporting any reform led by the minister. This, Minister Rohee said was most “regrettable” since the reforms are long overdue and much needed.
The strategic plan will see the establishment of a Strategic Management Department which will have oversight for it. In this regard, advertisements will be published in the media, inviting suitable persons to apply.
A panel, consisting of technical officers from the Home Affairs Ministry and the Guyana Police Force will examine the applications, 10 of which will be selected.
Minister Rohee also explained that the issues that will be looked at in the reform includes administration, succession planning, probity and integrity of the force, and public relations were drawn from the Capita Symonds Report, a UK-based firm that was consulted.
Moreover, he noted that all of these steps were done in consultation with the police force.
The minister himself will have very little involvement in this process; as his responsibility is to set the parameters to ensure that the force is properly oriented, and that it has the necessary tools to effectively address all the issues that were brought out in the Capita Symonds Report by the experts.
The first phase of this consultancy will last for a period of about four to six weeks, and will commence sometime later this month. It will cost approximately US$129,750 or Gy$25 million.
Discussing the change in name for the Guyana Police Force to the Guyana Police Service, Minister Rohee said that Cabinet in its wisdom deliberated on this matter and agreed that the change will be apt in terms of making this premier law enforcement agency, a more service-oriented organisation in keeping with its motto of “Service and Protection”.
With regards to the opposition’s claims that the minister had this reform plan in gestation for an inordinate amount of time and has now, opportunistically, chosen to release it, Minister Rohee said that this argument is petty and explained that the process was an expensive one that encompassed several phases and every step had a cost, which had to be approved, before moving on to the next.