Our security officers are not as skilled as they want to believe

Jan 30, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Now that ExxonMobil is the new bogie man in town, I received a telephone call from a senior security practitioner who wanted to know how the local security industry could secure a fair share of business under the new oil dispensation.
He said that he had heard that the oil companies prefer to bring in their own security personnel. I told him that it was not as simple as that and the matter had much wider implications, which are as follows.
During 2012, while teaching a security course at the University of Guyana, I told my students that as Guyana gets closer to the oil production phase the security contract at the United States embassy will become shorter. This means that a new foreign security provider will take over the security of the embassy after a few years, so that other American security outfits could position themselves to take over the local security industry.
I told them that the current security contract will be the shortest and that the Guyanese senior functionaries of the current security provider will be soon replaced by foreigners. All of the above happened.
But Guyana is unique in all of this. Our security industry has been for too long a highly politicized one; and since the security industry internationally complements the criminal justice system it is very corrupt. A little known fact is that members of the joint services have been traditionally foisted upon the local security industry in the absence of a properly structured resettlement programme for former soldiers.
Again many former joint service personnel are on, or used to be on the payroll of many security departments, ostensibly as security consultants, even though they only turned up at month end to collect large sums of money.
A United Nations document stated a long time ago that members of our joint services were involved in “protection racket.” Aggrieved business persons have complained bitterly for years of how difficult it often was to find these large sums of money each month.
When President David Granger took office the practice of security extortion or protection racket was greatly reduced because nobody wanted to be on the wrong side of the President. So for several months cheques were left uncollected until it became apparent that the practice had almost died a natural death.
But even those former Joint Services officials who were legitimate employees of companies had some problems of their own, irrespective of how much money they earned, and several earned a lot. They never bother to upgrade themselves professionally.
As many functioned below par due to their lack of a thorough understanding of the private sector, and the private security industry in particular; some lost high paying jobs, mostly colonels. So they now face a fate similar to their Jamaican counterparts. Several years ago thirty persons sat an international professional security exam in Jamaica; twenty nine failed miserably. The only successful candidate was the lone female and lone civilian. Those who failed were all former senior members of the joint services.
This fiasco further reinforced a long held view in the security industry internationally, that military veterans working in the industry often accord themselves much more credit than they truly deserve. The professional examining body then instituted a number of changes which make it mandatory for applicants to attend a two-week programme before sitting the exam; this change could increase the cost of the exam by between f$500,000 and one million dollars.
But the Jamaican men did not have to endure that fate because they were offered help by the lone successful female who unlike them had spent her entire working life in the security industry. However, ego being what it is, they refused her assistance.
It is to be noted, too, that it is civilians who teach soldiers many of the sophisticated technical security skills which are utilized in the military so there was a surfeit of technical skills present in the Jamaican private security industry at that time.
Back to Guyana, former joint services officers are often reluctant to hire civilians who are qualified in security management because they are afraid of competition.
It is especially difficult for females. I trained only six females over a fifteen-year period to senior levels. None were able to secure employment in the settings described above, because when the women came to me they already had several passes at the CSEC, university diplomas or degrees.
Thankfully, they have all been able to secure employment with international companies in Guyana, and with two foreign embassies. Two have left Guyana and work with international companies overseas.
One could understand why our security departments spend so much money annually. We do so because we must also pay a very high price for inefficiency. In order for an entity to function properly people with complementary skills must work together.
In 2008, I spearheaded the establishment of a professional body for security managers because I foresaw this day. When we invited certain persons they turned their noses up. Today they are helpless in the cold.
Naturally so, ExxonMobil is privy to this conspicuous void in the local security industry, and along with its American allies is poised to eventually take over the entire security industry in the absence of strong legislation. I have seen this in several South American and Caribbean countries. The literature informs of its occurrence in other jurisdictions.
The problem lies in the fact that our security managers do not understand how to manage a security department in a modern environment. Many are reluctant to learn or employ persons with such qualifications for fear of being replaced. But government has to do its part by providing the necessary legislative safeguards.
Guyana is one of few remaining countries where foreigners could operate freely in its security industry. The joint certification between the Guyana Defence Force and the University of Guyana will help significantly to professionalize the industry because a soldier can then pursue one year of security training and matriculate to the Masters in security management anywhere in the world.
Messrs George Gomes and Joseph Mc Donald both former senior military officials have for long (10 years) asked me to talk to their colleagues with respect to pursuing professional security training. Today is the day of reckoning, I recently saw four former senior joint services officers working together in one office.
Previously their egos would have taken over and each would have carved out his own security fiefdom somewhere in the private security industry.
So here’s the take away. If you want to pose a successful challenge to expatriate security professionals with impeccable credentials, in a globalized economy, you will need to possess on par or superior credentials, hence the problem faced by the oil companies.
Clairmont Featherstone

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