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Govt snubs UK security reform aid

May 28, 2009 News

…British frustrated

 

Government has withdrawn from further participation in the Security Sector Reform Action Plan (SSRP) being funded by the United Kingdom Government.

In a letter sent to British High Commissioner to Guyana, Fraser Wheeler, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, stated that he has lost faith in the process and is increasingly convinced of ulterior motives on the part of the representatives of the Government of the UK.

The letter, which was released to the media by the Government Information Agency (GINA), surfaced one day after Wheeler blamed the administration’s bureaucracy for delaying the implementation of the plan.

A recent British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) report stated that Guyana can loose £3M sterling (US$4.7 M).

The warning came amidst a disagreement between the two countries on how to properly manage the funds that have been set aside for the Security Sector Reform Programme (SSRP).

Dr. Luncheon, in his letter, expressed his profound disappointment with the specific proposals on management of the SSRP, the process and its time course.

“Notwithstanding our current profoundly negative reactions, there is need to re­affirm our appreciation of the efforts made during our bilateral engagements in progressively agreeing in principle with a programme of activities for Security Sector Reform in Guyana,” the letter stated.

The SSRP, whose Interim Memorandum of Understanding was signed in August 2007, is aimed at improving police operations in crime hot-spots, forensics, crime-intelligence and traffic policing.

Speaking with the media on Monday, Wheeler said that the reform implementation process is ‘unfortunately going slowly’.

He said that his government’s frustration with the pace of implementation was shared to President Bharrat Jagdeo.

“We need to get on with it, but there are some people in the government who are quibbling about administrative details still, which means we can’t do it and we want to do it,” the High Commissioner said.

The High Commissioner pointed out that the money has been ‘hanging around for a long time’. “In the current economic climate, we need to use it or we will lose it.”

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