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City Hall can’t shake off its cash-strapped status

Jan 18, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
Please permit me the space in your columns to highlight a fundamental problem which faces the City Police. But before I do, I would like to restate for the records that very few Guyanese are aware that the City Constabulary is in fact the oldest police force in this country with a distinct legislative mandate; that less than desirable image then, which the City police have displayed through the years, is but symptomatic of a wider problem which has its roots in Guyana’s political culture.
The governments of Commonwealth countries are often wary of municipalities that become too powerful, in so doing, clever strategies are employed to keep them in check. This is why all previous governments sought to gain and retain control of the Georgetown Municipality.
There are only four municipal police departments in the world whose legislative mandates closely resemble that of the City Constabulary and they are still headed by a Chief Constable, with the Durban Metro Police having a developmental trajectory that is almost identical to the one under review—one of political interference and financial manipulation among others. These challenges have long prevented the City Constabulary from carrying out its mandate in a highly professional manner.
As an example, I returned to Guyana from a period of studies in Canada during late December 1993. The next day the late city Councilor Anthony Boyce invited me to a meeting which was kept under his house. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce Mr. Hamilton Green who by then was certain that he could win the candidacy for Mayor of Georgetown.
I asked Mr. Green if elected, how he expected to raise funds for the city, since in my estimation it was hardly likely that he would find favour with the administration then in office.
In response Mr. Green outlined a Lotto fund, paid parking, a container levy, and two other items of which I am now oblivious. So far the municipality has not been able to benefit from any of these initiatives. In fact, after submitting the Lotto proposal to the previous government the Georgetown municipality never received a response until it was mentioned in the press that the government was about to introduce a Lotto Fund.
By-law policing is a catalyst for safety, security and the maintenance of good order in the city. By-law enforcement requires a coordinated effort from a wide range of officials with varying expertise. Furthermore, strategic By-law policing is seen as contributing towards crime prevention, especially by addressing environmental factors and prioritising the following: The integration of by-law enforcement activities, Standardisation of by-law enforcement processes, Implementation of the docket process, Community involvement, and Contemporary policing approach.
None of the above could be achieved given the current socio political dispensation under which the City Constabulary operates taken into account the systemic problems caused by its cash strapped status, the diminished moral of its officers and the lack of educated manpower.
Clairmont Featherstone

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