Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
Police reform…No move to deny renewal of civilian contracts
– Home Affairs Ministry
The Ministry of Home Affairs says it is unaware of any action currently being taken to deny renewing the contracts of members of the Strategic Management Department.
The Ministry was responding to an article published by this newspaper dated 13th March 2014 under the caption, ‘Civilians contract coming to an end, reforms still a long way off’.
Head of the SMD Patrick Mentore
The article focused on the possibility that the head of the Strategic Management Department, Patrick Mentore, may not have his contract renewed when it comes to an end next month.
It also dealt with the fact that from an original team of ten civilians, the Strategic Management Department, which was appointed to overlook the police reform process, is down to seven persons after less than a year.
The article must have touched a vital nerve in the Ministry, who in a press statement issued yesterday said that it is concerned about the propensity that is being displayed by Kaieteur News in “misleading members of the public about events that have been occurring in the Guyana Police Force.”
“Perhaps their ‘agents’ have not been forthright in providing to them accurate information about matters relating to the Guyana Police Force in which they seem to have an interest,” the Ministry said.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the members of the Strategic Management Department were employed on one-year contracts, renewable every year based on their performance.
“They are all aware of the conditionalities of their employment.”
It noted that the implementation for the Strategic Plan of Guyana Police Force is scheduled to be undertaken over a period of five years and very shortly the Ministry of Home Affairs expects the Head of the Strategic Management Department to submit his Annual Report on the achievements of the Department since its formation.
This activity forms part of the Ministry’s monitoring and evaluation strategy to ensure that the modernization process of the Force is kept on track.
The Ministry said that “the modernization process of the Guyana Police Force is not personality driven; therefore if Kaieteur News believes that any individual could stymie the process of the modernization of the Force, the authors of the article are mistaken.”
It said that in keeping with its oversight responsibilities, the Ministry will take all steps to ensure that the modernization of the Guyana Police Force continues, “in spite of any attempt to distract our attention’.
There were signs that some members of the Strategic Management Department were less than comfortable working in the police environment. However, Team Leader Rosanne Purnwasie had put paid to that notion.
“All 10 members of the SMD felt very comfortable with being part of the Guyana Police Force. The Interview Panel consisted of a wide range of high profile individuals from both the public and private sectors and they chose 10 strong individuals who are/were very capable of working with the police,” she had said in a statement last year.
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