Go Rohee, go!

Nov 30, 2014 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

---

The death of Asif Rahim, a 38-year-old fisherman of Meten-Meer-Zorg, after he was allegedly arrested by uniformed members of the Guyana Police Force on a complaint of ‘abusive language,’ was only the latest in a litany of lamentable crimes committed under the present Minister of Home Affairs. The victim’s relatives claim that policemen attached to the notorious Leonora Police Station savagely stomped, kicked and gun-butted Rahim during his brief detention.
It is public knowledge that the security situation in Guyana has deteriorated drastically since Clement Rohee’s appointment as Minister eight years ago in September 2006. The situation has gotten worse since Rohee was selected as General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) five years later in August 2013.  His assumption of duty as his party’s elections campaign manager ¯ for the expected general and regional elections or local government elections ¯has made matters even worse.
Rohee, when questioned by the media last year about whether he (Rohee) would retain his portfolio as Minister of Home Affairs in addition to that of General Secretary of the PPP, given the heavy demands of the public security sector, responded “that is something that we will obviously have to look at some time down the road.” The entire country is now “down the road” as far as violent crime and police misconduct are concerned. The Minister, clearly, is overwhelmed by the burden.
Evidence of the rot in the security sector has been apparent for years. The Police Force selectively published its partial statistics for the period of 1st January to 31st October 2014 a few days ago. The news was dreadful.  The numbers indicated that murders increased by 7 per cent over the same period last year; there were 111 murders from January to October 2013, but these increased to 119 murders for the same period in 2014.
Armed robberies increased by 8 per cent in 2014 over the corresponding period in 2013. The statistics indicated an increase of 13 per cent in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms by the perpetrators. There were 113 road fatalities at the end of October 2014 in comparison to 85 fatalities for the same period in 2013 ¯ a 33 per cent increase.
The news is all bad. But it gets worse when it is realized that the behaviour of some law-enforcement officers is worse than that of the criminals!
The Police Complaints Authority (PCA), at one time, was receiving about 364 complaints every year or, on average, one complaint a day, against members of the Police Force.  The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigates allegations of misconduct against members of the Force. Several policemen have had to be charged for criminal behaviour before the civil courts. Others have faced moderate, internal disciplinary sanctions as a result of misdemeanours reported to the PCA and OPR. Complaints of offences range from attempting to pervert the course of justice; illegal possession of arms and ammunition; inflicting grievous bodily harm; larceny; murder; rape and trafficking in persons.
Other complaints against the Police, made particularly to the PCA, have been about policemen acting in a manner likely to bring discredit to a member of the Force; corrupt transactions; illegal searches; lack of civility to a member of the public; neglect of duty; unlawful arrest; use of unnecessary force and, most gravely, unlawful killings.
Rohee must be made to understand that, as the longest serving minister in the PPP cabinet, he is subject to the doctrine of ministerial responsibility. This holds that, at a personal level, each minister will accept responsibility for the performance of his or her ministry. Each minister, therefore, “has an obligation to the National Assembly, if not to the entire nation, to account, and to be held accountable, for the actions and behaviour of his or her ministry. If a minister, or a department within a ministry, performs in a manner so egregiously incompetent or corrupt that the Administration is likely to be brought into ridicule or contempt, he should accept responsibility for such performance and resign.”
The doctrine of ministerial responsibility, therefore, requires the minister to resign if his conduct undermines public confidence in his ability to hold high office with dignity and integrity. “To hang on to office is a sign not of gallantry but merely of obstinacy at best, or unproven guilt at worst.”
The Police Force, for which Rohee has ministerial responsibility, is facing serious challenges. It needs to suppress crime within its ranks. The problem is that Police misconduct is dragging public security and human safety down at the same time. Public confidence in the Police is evaporating. Some sections of the Force have come to be seen as accessories to crime rather than protectors of the citizens’ rights.
Rohee seems to have elevated his Party’s elections campaign above everyday human safety concerns. It is no surprise, therefore, that there has been an alarming deterioration in police morale and behaviour and an escalation in the rate of violent crime.
Rohee, if he cannot do two jobs – public security and political campaigning – should do one, preferably the latter. If he cannot function competently as Minister of Home Affairs he should go.

---

---