We’ve
always had a problem with crime in Guyana, but the situation has become untenable under the Coalition.
We have a President who defends that the mother of all crimes is narcotics, when in fact it is poverty and social disparities that engender crime, including narco-trade. At the same time, President Granger has cultivated the image of being a criminal-lover by releasing almost one hundred prisoners to date, without ensuring that proper rehabilitation measures were implemented to guarantee their successful reintegration in society. It is therefore unsurprising that quite a few of the same pardoned criminals went right back to re-engaging in illicit activities, some of which they were previously condemned.
At the same time, we have a Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, who, albeit being forced to dwell in Granger’s shade, was handed a diminished portfolio which is a now but a mere shadow of what the Home Affairs Ministry used to be. But even with his reduced responsibilities, Ramjattan has to date been incapable of fighting crime, much less containing it.
The alarming crime rate is intrinsically tied to several factors, notwithstanding the President’s notorious leniency towards criminals. Socioeconomic issues, such as chronic unemployment, the current economic stagnation, the lack of private investments, inaccessibility to higher learning for young people, or decent jobs for young professionals, etc, all engender poverty, which in turn contributes to the increase in crime.
Perhaps it is the President’s laissez-faire attitude and the Public Security Ministry’s incompetence in cracking down on crime, that have invested criminals with a sense of immunity from law and order, resulting in their reinforced brazen attacks on Guyanese from all backgrounds combined. But if we can be certain of one thing, it is that Guyanese are fed-up of the Government’s inaptitude in proposing a durable, long-term strategy to fight crime and its root cause. The recent gunning down of young man in Albouystown has resulted in the people of the neighbourhood in question, to demand that President Granger “step-up” to put a muzzle on crime.
But in all appearance their call has gone unanswered and President Granger continues to show reticence in holding the much awaited press conference he owes to the Guyanese people. One might rightfully venture that the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana is afraid to acknowledge his cumulated failures to people, but also, that he has no regard for democratic principles such as transparency and accountability.
Today, however, I join my voice to those of thousands of my frustrated country-women and men, and ask President Granger to come out and face us, the people of Guyana. President Granger must tell us what he has done so far to secure the future of Guyana’s youth, to lift us out of poverty and by extent, break the vicious cycle of crime.
Why is it that contrary to his campaign promises, President Granger claims that it is not the Government’s responsibility to provide jobs for young people? Why will the President and his administration not take responsibility for the thousands of jobs lost in both the private and public sectors since 2015? Is it not the Government’s responsibility to create sustainable policies which stimulate economic growth and job creation? Is this President Granger’s definition of a socially inclusive and cohesive society?
Why is cook-up rice, plantain chips and cassava chips the President’s best employment strategy on his Public Interest show? When should we expect real solutions to Guyana’s problems on the Public Interest show? Where is President Granger’s long-promised crime-fighting strategy and what are all those military-trained advisors who were hired, doing to contain and reduce crime?
If President Granger cannot be a man of his words and live up to his own promises, then perhaps he should stop wasting time and hard-earned tax-dollars on his weekly propaganda dubbed Public Interest, and focus the country’s resources on tackling poverty and crime.
President Granger and his administration have done little to prove their worth so far. Instead, they are draining the energy out of Guyana and sucking the marrow out of our people.
