Water cannon to stave off unpleasant occurrences – Greene

The Home Affairs Ministry on Thursday presented the keys for a Gy$37 million water cannon vehicle which, Police Chief Henry Greene said, will do well to stave off unpleasant occurrences.

The equipment was handed over at Police Headquarters. It is used to disperse crowds and quell disorderly occurrences.

Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said, “It is only a matter of coincidence that this vehicle has arrived at a time when elections are a mere two weeks away.” He noted that only wrongdoers need to be fearful of the equipment.

He added that government had no control over the shipping arrangements for the equipment and did not indicate to shippers when it wanted the cannon to be delivered.

“It is mainly a matter of a coincidence, but be that as it may, as the minister responsible for public order in our country, it behooves me to ensure that Guyana Police Force has the requisite tools to ensure that it is effectively equipped to take care of public order or to ensure public order takes place in our country whenever the situation so requires.”

The home affairs minister justified the purchase of the water cannon as a step in the right direction to the modernisation of the police force. He said modernisation must be seen in a much wider context than that of human resources, institutional and technological capacity.

“It must also be seen in the context of the organisation to maintain public order in our country. In modernising the force, we have to ensure that we have modern equipment; we cannot only talk modernisation, we have to do modernisation.” He said: “Too often governments are accused of talking modernisation but not doing enough to modernise the institutions such as the police force so that it is able to carry out its legal and lawful responsibilities.”

Rohee stressed that the procurement of the equipment must not be politicised by the public. He noted that a modern police force requires modern equipment, and as such, it is the aim of the current administration to enhance the capabilities of the Guyana Police Force.

In a brief address, Greene said the equipment will serve the force well given the fact that over the last few years there have been unpleasant occurrences. The water cannon, he said, complements the bulletproof vehicles and other equipment purchased by the force for crime fighting.

“Today as part of our strategy in the maintenance of public order, observing the peace, police have a role to play in ensuring that we use minimal force and under the concept of minimum force comes non-lethal force. What we have been presented with here through the Ministry of Home Affairs, is what we call non-lethal force. It is intended to be used in environments where there is some disorder, things are totally out of control, and there is need for the police to bring back some semblance of order.”