2 am curfew could be brought forward – Ramjattan

Despite calls by some in the business community to relax the 2 am curfew for night spots, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has suggested that the curfew could be brought forward to as early as midnight.

He was at the time speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the Social Cohesion Ministry’s five-year strategic plan for which he is a stakeholder.

Speaking with media operatives at the Georgetown Marriott Hotel on Thursday, the Minister highlighted that religious and other stakeholder groups that form part of the social cohesion committee were supportive of moving the curfew to as much as two hours earlier.

“The Hindu, Muslim, Christian – with the church movement, and a lot of women want that curfew; as a matter of fact, they want to bring it forward to 12 o’ clock. We have to understand that Guyana is an extraordinary heavy drinking society,” the Public Security Minister stressed.

At present, bars, nightclubs and restaurants across the country have a close-off time of 02:00h which Minister Ramjattan enforced in July 2015. On Thursday, he cited a recent household report on alcohol and illicit drug use showed that Guyana has the largest binge drinking culture in the Caribbean. He noted that the statistic has grave implications for the society.

“That has implications for us – lots of traffic accidents, domestic violence, and a lot of monies being misspent [by persons] who would have ordinarily taken care of their children,” the Cabinet member stressed.

The Minister pointed out that he would not argue for any extension of the curfew that bar owners have been calling for, noting that the country would pay a greater price.

“It is in accordance with international best practices that bars be closed at certain hours – when you go around the Caribbean and all the states of America – I’ve done the research on it – generally its 12 midnight and one o’clock in the morning,” he added.

In the past, the Minister threatened to revoke or suspend the licences of businesses which do not comply with the enforcement. However, concessions were given at certain intervals for night establishments to operate at later hours, but this was only for holiday periods. Minister Ramjattan has argued that the curfew was part of his crime-fighting strategy.