A sense of urgency is required

Sep 17, 2014 Editorial

The statement coming from Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee about the Waini River submersible is indeed welcomed, if only fleetingly, by an increasingly cynical populace. People may be forgiven for believing that the only strength politicians in this country possess is their ability to delude themselves while blithely thinking that they have the rest of the world conned.
The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit and the Guyana Defence Force stumble on a vessel built and outfitted ostensibly to transport illegal drugs from this transshipment country that is Guyana, and we are no closer to knowing who the main players are. Detaining a businessman for questioning is just so much cosmetology camouflaged to look like serious investigative work.
As an aside, it is the opinion of this column that the investigation into the murder of beautician Ashmini Harriram will not net the alleged mastermind(s), for the simple reason that he/they will be allowed the opportunity to flee the jurisdiction and thereby escape prosecution. That is the only possible explanation for ignoring certain statements since in the first place. Any leaked information which placed the young lady’s life in jeopardy as an informant, could only have come from persons within law enforcement. Secondly, the investigators are reported as saying that robbery was not the motive for the killing which gives said statements a ring of truth.
A motor boat purportedly costing G$60 million is acquired for the Guyana Police Force but has all the utility of a beached ballahoo, because it has been lying atop a wharf since its arrival over a month ago. Officials speak about the scourge of piracy and yet no evidence is being presented that any serious interventions are in the works.
The Waini River is one of the places where it would have been thought was the focus of intense patrols by both the police and the army maritime sections. The fact that a vessel of the type discovered by the CANU and the GDF, serves to underscore the lack of serious commitment to protect the lives and property of fishermen who daily brave treacherous waters and harsh conditions to earn a living and provide the rest of the country with food.
To mouth platitudes amid breast beatings when lives are lost at the hands of pirates who escape with nary a trace, is no consolation to the families of those hardy souls. What is perhaps the most important factor which fuels the nonchalant behaviour of this country’s leaders is the taking for granted of the almost ubiquitous docility of the people most affected by piracy. It is quite convenient to take the easy course which is informed by the thought that those persons have no other choice but to carry on with that virtually thankless job in a high unemployment environment. The question is when will they demand more in the way of justice from unresponsive security architecture?
Commendably, the acting Commissioner of Police took some time to sit down and listen to the concerns of the affected fishing communities in East Berbice, but his interactions did not produce the degree of comfort that people were clamouring for. Indeed, his intervention fell far short of expectations, due in part to the probable realistic appreciation of the resource capacity levels with which the force is endowed.
In addition to piracy there is an almost lethargic approach to the question of illegal fishing by non-nationals. It seems as if there is a concerted effort, aided and abetted by officialdom, for aliens to denude this country of every aspect of its so far unrealized potential. The furore over whether local fishermen were selling their catch to foreign mother ships has been overtaken by other events, and so there is no idea of the real situation.
It is time this country’s inhabitants be freed from the daily charade of placatory promises pretending to be serious attempts to address citizens’ concerns, when the evidence suggests that a masquerade is in progress. The failure to come up with concrete and sustainable collaborative initiatives internally and with external partners, indicates serious intellectual and conceptual incapacity in high places. A sense of urgency must be brought to bear to overcome our security challenges.

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A sense of urgency is required

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