We need a proper witness protection programme

Aug 04, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
While I commend Assistant Commissioner of Police for his recent stand, without the support of his ranks and his superiors the situation will just continue to be the same. How is it that an official can say they tried to cut off the bandits’ escape route but had no knowledge of the exact crime scene?
Did the person taking the report ask for that info and pass it along or did they do as a former supervisor of mine once did, after just hearing the word “gun” send the security vehicle off on a chase without directions.
I immediately had to contact another supervisor to pass on the relevant information and the police were able to apprehend the suspect.
In the other story about the robbery at Esso gas station, while the police may not be able to prosecute the taxi driver without witnesses, the mere fact that he named an accomplice should be enough to find him guilty and have him pay the penalty until they catch the others, then use his word against them because unless we can get proper witness protection in place, no one would be willing to testify in court.
Fay Johnson

Have you forged any signatures lately Kwame?

Dear Editor,
There is an old idiom: “People who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones”. In a recent letter published in Guyana Chronicle on July 30th, Office of the President Information Press Liaison Officer, Mr. Kwame Mc Coy labelled me an “opportunist” and said I was “intellectually disadvantaged on the subject of media rules and regulations”. I was subsequently forced to respond to Mr. Mc Coy in a letter that was sent to Guyana Chronicle and Kaieteur News (KN August 1), but as expected, my letter was never published in the Government controlled Guyana Chronicle. Thank God for the independent medium that is not afraid to publish both sides of the story.
Mr. Kwame Mc Coy has a very impressive title: Office of the President Information Press Liaison Officer. But it wasn’t so long ago that he had another title; that of “Personal Assistant to the Mayor of Georgetown”. His employment at City Hall lasted for about a year before he was asked to leave for ‘unethical behaviour’. Now that he’s a “big one” in the Office of the President throwing his weight around, I have a few questions to ask:
1. When Kwame Mc Coy applied for the position he now has, did he submit a résumé listing his employment at City Hall?
2. If so, did the résumé state the reason/s he left, and did anyone from the OP verify this information with the Mayor’s office?
These questions are pertinent in that I believe the employment of Mr. Kwame Mc Coy in the Office of the President, poses a serious security breach to the President of Guyana.
While employed as Mayor Hamilton Green’s Personal Assistant, Mr. Mc Coy was asked to leave in lieu of being fired for “unethical behavior”.
Among those being the forced entry into the desk drawer of the Mayor’s Confidential Secretary to extract the Mayor’s official letterheads, which he used to write letters and forged the Mayor’s signature for his own personal gains. Perhaps a few job recommendations were among this lot.
A thief who is caught by the police breaking into someone’s home and confessed that it is the first time he’s doing it, is probably lying… It is the first time he’s caught in the act.
Kwame Mc Coy is employed in a very sensitive position in the Jagdeo Administration; his unlimited access to the Head of State and confidential information is very troubling. And so I wonder, “Have you forged any signatures lately Kwame?”
If Mc Coy was brave enough to forge the Mayor of Georgetown’s signature, what is preventing him from performing a similar act if it suits his purpose at the Office of the President?
It may be necessary for his boss to give the Mayor a call, to determine just how much of a security risk Mc Coy is, and to what extent he can be trusted.
Harry Gill

A memorable visit to Kaieteur Falls

Dear Editor,
Recently I was in Guyana as part of the medical outreach team – Guyana Watch. During my stay I visited Kaieteur Falls, and I would like to share my experience. We were picked up from our hotel, transported to Cheddi Jagan International Airport, and escorted to the comfortable lounge of Roraima Airways.
The lounge staff was very cordial and informed us of a delay in getting the aircraft ready.
The 10-seat Highlander finally took off about an hour after the scheduled departure time. The pilot didn’t bother to introduce himself, and his name on his ID was in a font so small that even with 6/6 vision it was not clear to me from a distance of four feet. He had a very grim look that automatically turned down the possibility of friendly conversation.
He however handled the aircraft pretty well. In Kaieteur, we were greeted by a guide immediately on landing. He introduced himself as Benjamin, and told us right away that “our time of one and a half hour starts now”.
He was very pleasant and I was impressed by his knowledge of plants. He even showed us an elusive yellow frog, which is so distinctive of the region.
He took us along the trail to the falls and we had a great view of the magnificent falls from three different vantage points.
The weather allowed for great picture opportunities and I was mesmerized by the natural beauty of the falls and the surroundings.
There was not a trace of litter, and the only artificial object nearby was a warning sign to keep off the overhang. Benjamin made sure that we were back to our aircraft within the scheduled time.
On our return we landed at Ogle International Airport, which came as a surprise, as we set out from Cheddi Jagan International Airport. My trip to Kaieteur was certainly a memorable one, and I am happy to have visited the highest single drop fall in the world.
The experience would have been more enjoyable had our pilot communicated with us, and we had some more time at the falls.
Prasanta Basak, MD.