Why no women on the Police Service Commission?

Feb 11, 2012 Letters

Dear Editor,
Maybe the views of other members of the reading public could clarify two matters which have been puzzling to me. I will couch one in the form of the question; “Is the Guyana Water Inc. in cahoots with the purveyors of pure water who seem to be springing up all over the place?”
Someone out there might be able to convince me that throughout this country, GWI is incapable of providing potable (read that as clean, filtered) water of an acceptable quality minus rust and other undesirable foreign bodies.
Maybe our local medical experts could be persuaded to argue that iron (in water) supplies an essential nutrient, which is healthy for the body because it helps transport oxygen to the blood. However, the water supplied to Paradise Housing Scheme where I live, causes serious damage to clothes, and even though it is advisable to install a filtration system, not everyone (including me) can afford the constant change of filters that is necessary to enjoy this most basic of human health needs.
The PR gurus at GWI might wish to advise us if ever there was an intention of supplying treated water to communities between Industry and Unity on the East Coast of Demerara.
If there was, then we need to know whatever it was that caused the apparent abandonment of such an extension programme.
The second matter which requires an explanation is the absence of women on the Police Service Commission (PSC) in the history of that body. Whatever happened to the accepted principle (pardon me Dr. Jeffrey) of permitting the representation of women on statutory bodies? The established practice of having only men on the PSC is not only archaic but reeks of an institutionalized disregard for the potential contribution of women who have a significant presence in the Guyana Police Force which comes under the ambit of the PSC.
In the same way that former senior male police officers are appointed to the PSC, I am strongly of the opinion that there are former senior female police officers similarly qualified for appointment.
By the way, this preoccupation with seniority could only serve to exclude the appointment of qualified persons who might not have reached the senior gazetted officer levels.
Editor, on another note, my observation is that although a few policewomen have served as Divisional Second-in-Command, and as Commanders in arguably small Divisions, it is a historical fact that none of the policewomen who have been promoted to Assistant Commissioner served in the general duties field, but within the CID, Immigration, and General Office streams.
The PRO might be able to correct me on this, but we really need to revise our way of doing things if we are to be taken seriously when speaking about gender equality.
I was extremely pleased to see the First Lady actively participating in the observance of our Women’s Army Corp’s forty-fifth anniversary.
Way to go Vijai!
Patrick E. Mentore

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