Lusignan prisons is once more the focus of attention

Oct 18, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Guyanese recently woke up to the news of another jailbreak. Three dangerous criminals are on the run. The Lusignan Prison is once again the focus of attention by concerned, law abiding Guyanese.
Compounding the situation even more is the shooting of 10 inmates who were protesting the abominable conditions at the prison. Reports are that rubber bullets and live rounds and tear gas were used to quell the unrest.
Water tenders belonging to the Guyana Fire Service had to be called in to extinguish fires lit by angry prisoners.
The situation is reminiscent of the disaster that befell the nation on July 2017 when the Georgetown Prisons went up in flames.
To date, no warning or danger alert with phone numbers has been issued by law enforcement calling on citizens to be on the lookout and to report any sightings of the escapees.
Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan has portfolio responsibility for the Guyana Prison Service but it is becoming increasingly obvious to Guyanese that the Minister continues to be at his wits end, if not clueless insofar as solutions to problems that continue to plague the prison system of Guyana are concerned.
On assuming office, Mr. Ramjattan rejected the sound policies he inherited from the previous PPP/C administration that kept the four prison locations secure and habitable with far less resources.
Mr. Ramjattan pretending to know it all, dispensed with the security policies of the PPP/C administration and replaced them with adhocracy and a set of hodgepodge directives handed down to him resulting in the current crisis gripping Guyana’s prison system.
All the talk about setting up a Commission of Inquiry into the 2017 fiery debacle at the Georgetown Prisons has come to nought. In fact, there was never any intention to do so
As far as the APNU + AFC government was concerned the COI held in connection with the horrific events in 2016 was enough.
Ramjattan abdicated his responsibility by not pressing for a COI into the destruction of the Georgetown Prisons deemed the worst disaster ever in the history of the Guyana Prison Service.
Once again, deception became the handmaiden of intransigence and administrative laziness on the part of the APNU+ AFC Coalition administration.
Talk about dereliction of duty by a cabinet headed by a president that likes show off his knowledge about security matters, failure to establish a COI in 2017 is an excellent example of gross negligence by the government over which he presides.
From all appearances, COIs are established as a means to an end, especially when Mr. Granger wants to get rid of those he dislikes and undesirables holding key positions within an organization which forms part of the disciplined services.
Make no mistake. The COIs into the attempted assassination of the president and the Lindo Creek massacre were masquerades aimed at getting rid of certain senior ranks in the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force and to put in place ranks with whom the CIC was comfortable.
The strategy plan for the Guyana Prison Service aimed at transforming the Guyana Prison Service into a correctional service remains on paper and the civilian unit established to oversee implementation of the plan been reduced to a virtual arm of the Prison Service.
The Unit is denied the necessary human and financial resources by the National Security Council chaired by the President himself.
We seem to be captivated by a sleepy and hollow syndrome characteristic of those who are responsible for keeping the nation and its populace safe and sound but who chose to spend their time looking out for opportunities to enrich themselves.
Citizens should not be surprised if one morning or evening they were to be confronted in their yard or in their place of residence by one or two or all three of the escapees.
The threat to life, limb and property is real and must not be taken for granted nor underestimated. The much touted National Security Strategy continues to be held hostage by the Granger administration.
The President has a habit of trotting out deceptive and misleading assurances to the public. As recent as September this year he promised that the Combe Report on Security Sector Reform will be released; “I have instructed that he (Jagdeo) be sent a copy of the of the Report by Colonel Combe and during the month of October after the recess it will be made available to the National Assembly.”
In August, President Granger declared that the report would be “made public once it is presented to the National Assembly.”
Apparently, the security reform plan is still being “studied” by the sub-set of seat warming security experts ensconced at Cabinet.
In the meantime, the crime situation is in a mess and the prisons system continues to rock from crisis to crisis. The citizenry has lost all respect for the Minister of Public Security and the Government in which he serves despite assurances.
Calls for Ramjattan’s dismissal have been made time and again however President Granger is shackled by the Cummingsburg Accord. No AFC Cabinet Minister can be removed from office lest the Coalition Administration falls apart.
Guyanese must be like Banwarie and ‘bear their chafe.’ 2O20 is the only way out.
In the meanwhile, more and more drugs, improvised weapons and other illegal items are pouring into the prisons. Bribable and corruptible Prison Officers are complicit.
Mr. Granger in an interview in September this year was quoted as saying; “… at the heart of the problem are of course the quality of manpower; and I believe the Minister of Public Security is working on… and recruiting suitable type persons that would not be susceptible to bribery and corruption.”
This statement is a clear indication that Mr. Granger is sailing while Mr. Ramjattan is sleeping. They are both oblivious to the fact that the security situation in the country is becoming more and more unmanageable.
In the wider society, despite assurances when in opposition, that they would snuff out criminal networks engaging in human trafficking, gun running and drug smuggling, on a daily basis massive amounts of cocaine are found in lumber, vegetables and in the bowels of swallowers.
But even more disturbing was the ‘breaking news’ that ecstasy is in great demand in our schools while heroin and crystal methamphetamine are penetrating the borders of our country only to endanger the lives of our young people.
Constant bellyaching by government claiming there is no money to implement the 2016 COI recommendations aimed at addressing the deplorable conditions at the Lusignan and other prison locations is hypocritical to say the least, especially when huge amounts are being spent on wasteful, non-essential projects.
The loud- mouthed commitments made over the years that government will find the resources to finance the security sector rings hollow.
With approximately 558 inmates belonging to the Georgetown Prisons being held in hellish holding bays at the Lusignan prison and another 300 belonging to the Lusignan Prison itself, it is not surprising that the escape of prisoners and protests actions at Lusignan took place.
The APNU+AFC Coalition Administration must cease its pretense at being a fountain of knowledge on security matters. It must be more inclusive and transparent in its management and administration of the prisons system.
To constantly harp on the claim that it was worse under the PPP/C and to ask the perennial question, ‘why didn’t you, meaning the PPP/C do these things when you were there, is not good enough.
The APNU+AFC campaigned on the platform of time for change. An APNU+AFC coalition is in government now; they must make the changes they promised the nation or resign.
2020 beckons!
Your sincerely,
Clement J. Rohee

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