Controversial $90M… We didn’t tell police to beg for food –Home Affairs Ministry

Mar 22, 2012 News

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The Ministry of Home Affairs has stated that it never advised the police to seek assistance from

the business community to feed ranks during last November’s General and Regional elections.
Divisional Commanders had indicated to this newspaper, that they were advised by Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene, to seek the assistance of the public since the Force had not received money from central government.
Greene has to date remained silent on this allegation.
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry said “as regards letters issued by Mr. Henry Greene to Commanders to seek the assistance of the public, assuming that this is indeed the case, the Ministry wishes to make it clear that no such instruction originated from Ministry of Home Affairs.”
The Ministry added, “…those who worked with and for the Guyana Police Force (GPF) over the years and prior to and after 1992 must know about these practices and much more which they themselves condoned and approved during their association with the Guyana Police Force.”
The Ministry is also maintaining that no illegal or criminal act was committed by the payment of part of the $90M allocated for police elections duties into the Police Central Welfare Fund.
This was in response to claims of financial impropriety by several prominent financial experts who have indicated that the money should not have been paid into that fund.
The Ministry had caused to be published, a copy of a Police Welfare Fund cheque paid to Assistant Commissioner, David Ramnarine.
This was after Ramnarine, who was Commander of the Police’s Interior Division, had indicated that he did not receive any money from the police to provide for his ranks during the election period.
In defending the decision to place the money into the fund, the Home Affairs Ministry adds further mystery by claiming that the use of the Police Central Welfare Fund was the only feasible option available to facilitate proper accountability, transparency and the tracing of transactions relating to the expenditure of the money to feed the ranks.
Prominent Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram, who is also an Attorney-at-Law, explained that the government had sought the $90M under line item 6261 which caters for local travel and subsistence.
This, he said, has nothing to do with the Police Welfare Fund.
Payments of such nature should be done via a Bank of Guyana cheque drawn on the police account.
“The Minister of Home Affairs and the Commissioner of Police should be prosecuted. They cannot legally put the money into the Welfare Fund,” Ram stated emphatically.
The Police Central Welfare Fund was established a number of years ago to take care of the welfare of Police ranks.
It also manages the Police Messes, Bars and Canteens.

In seeking to explain the situation regarding the sum of $90M advanced to the police, the Ministry of Home Affairs in the statement yesterday said that according to the records available at the Guyana Police Force, a total of $43,008,000 in the form of nine cheques was paid into the Police Central Welfare Fund by the Ministry of Finance.
Payments were made by the Ministry of Finance as a result of estimates that were submitted by the Police to cater for the feeding of ranks stationed at the various Police locations.
The Police Finance Office, as part of its mandate, thoroughly reviewed the amounts allocated and made payments to the appropriate Divisional and Branch Commanders based on criteria worked out by the Guyana Police Force.
This has resulted in the sum of $10,516,178.00 remaining in the account and this has since been paid over to the Ministry of Finance.
Re-payment to the Ministry of Finance was held in abeyance to ensure that no expense specific to the feeding of ranks was outstanding.
“As was pointed out in the Ministry’s previous Press Statement, quite a number of payments were required to be made from the amount of money received from the Ministry of Finance. All vouchers and relevant documents are in the possession of the police for audit,” the Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
It reiterated that $51,008,000 was paid to the Guyana Police Force for elections related activities, of which $43,008,000.00 was paid into the Police Central Welfare Fund for the feeding of ranks.
“None of this amount was paid to the Ministry of Home Affairs; neither did the Ministry direct the Police how to utilize the funds,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry said that it is concerned about the manipulation of the information on this matter by political opportunists and elements of the media, “which appears to be intended to cause confusion in the minds of the public and unease among the rank and file of the Guyana Police Force.”

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