2:00 a.m. bar curfew to go into full effect from tonight- Ramjattan

Jul 04, 2015 News

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Amid the voices of party goers raised in opposition to A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government’s proposed imposition of a 2:00hrs curfew against bars and nightclubs frequented by patrons, Minister of Public

Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, has declared his intention to stay the course.
The 2:00hrs rule, according to Ramjattan, during an interview with the media at Eve Leary yesterday, has seen police officers going to several bars and night clubs to enforce the new rule. It should go into full effect from this evening.
“We must go ahead with that! Drinking has a direct relation to violence, including domestic violence.”
Ramjattan said that most of the women’s rights organization had already given him the green light to go ahead, providing him with feedback that they would like to see drinking stopped at those hours, especially heavy binges. According to the Minister, it is around such times that heavy binges begin.
This, according to Ramjattan, also had a direct effect on traffic offences, as well as work ethic and productivity the next day.
“You drink too late; you cannot get up early for work.” Ramjattan declared. “And even if you do get up and go to work, you’re not functioning as effectively as you should.”
He said that popular establishments such as Gravity lounge, 704 and Palm Court would be forced to keep in line with the regulations. In fact, the enforcement of the two a.m. rule has already begun.
“Right now they (police) are doing their exercises. A lot of the proprietors have been asked to close off at 2:00a.m.” the Minister said.
He said that a number of liquor and restaurant owners had already begun lobbying him but stated that he would not, in any way, renege on his intentions despite the opposition.

“I have indicated to them that they will not get any assistance from me, in that regard.”
“It is also a legal requirement under their (bars/restaurants) licensing arrangements, that they bring a halt to their activities at 02:00 a.m.”
Asked what would happen if businesses refused to comply, Ramjattan said that there were sanctions in the law, leading up to and including the ultimate sanction– permanent closure of the offending establishment.
“We can suspend or revoke their licence, since the licencing agreement put it into effect that if you breach the regulations, your licence would be taken away.”
Ever since the proposal was first broached, local promoters, liquor restaurants and bars have been up in arms over the possibilities the curfew could have on their enterprise. Among their concerns are that the imposition went against Guyana’s entertainment culture and would have little positive effect on crime fighting and accidents, since party goers would find a way to circumvent the system.
Meanwhile, yesterday also saw the Ministry of Public Security handing over of 11 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) to the Tactical Services Unit (TSU), in Eve Leary in a bid to increase the unit’s patrolling capabilities.
Handing over the vehicles to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud was Ramjattan, who explained that the vehicles were the first batch of vehicles that he had promised some two weeks ago to the TSU.
He said that the vehicles, which came from the Community Policing Group (CPG), had to be re-sprayed and registered once again in the name of the Police Force. These measures, the Minister said, accounted for some of the delay before the vehicles could be handed over.
Ramjattan also said that there were 16 more vehicles still outstanding, from the contractor. However, once they arrive they would be handed over to the police, to be used in the divisions within the police force.
Ramjattan stated that even though the TSU had benefitted by the boost, the root causes of crime still had to be eradicated.
“There is a lot of desperation because of the youth unemployment especially.  That has to be addressed, in a micro-economic way.”
“And then there is the greed of some persons, who already have good jobs, but they’re greedy. Cases in point are the persons who attempted to steal eight vehicles. There is also the cleansing of the police force of rogue cops.”
According to Ramjattan, all these measures required herculean efforts on the part of the public security sector, but they could not be accomplished without the restoration of the public’s confidence in the police. Enhancing the patrolling capabilities of the TSU, something the public had been clamoring for, was one way to achieve this, Ramjattan said.
After arresting the criminals, however, there still remains another process—prosecution. Ramjattan also addressed this, pointing out that shortcomings within the prosecutorial system must be addressed.

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