On Monday last, Guyanese woke up to screaming headlines in various sections of the press, announcing that the country’s Junior Natural Resources Minister, Simona Broomes, was involved in a fracas and showdown outside of a popular business establishment on the East Bank of Demerara.
Among other things, the public learnt from the Minister and an official release from the Guyana Police Force that she and her driver were the alleged victims of aggressive security guards. At this point, it is important to note that the Government Minister reported that the guards utilised threatening language against her, and also pointed a loaded firearm in the direction of herself and driver.
Minister Broomes did not stop there. She is quoted in a section of the media as saying that she could have lost her life, and “everyone” deserves to be treated with respect. From all that was initially relayed by the Minister about the incident, which occurred on Sunday night, one could not help arriving at the conclusion that the Minister and her driver were the victims of unprofessional and irate security personnel.
The guards were arrested and detained for close to 16 hours before being questioned by ranks of the Guyana Police Force, after the Minister made a “call”, or what is believed to be an unofficial complaint.
But before more messages of sympathy and concern about the incident were relayed in the public domain, because the incident had gone viral on social media by Monday night, clearer and new footage emerged which told a very different story from the initial account given by the Minister about the incident.
In fact, the new CCTV footage showed the very minister and her driver being equally aggressive after they were told by the security personnel that they could not park in a restricted area, since it breached the establishment’s rules and regulations. That footage also depicted the Minister exiting her vehicle and removing ‘no parking signs’ before throwing them to the ground. And perhaps most importantly, it showed the Minister’s driver attempting to run over one of the security guards, who was arguably performing his duties. At no point in the footage released did the security guards appear to be pointing a gun at either the Minister or her driver.
Shortly after the release of this new footage, the Minister went silent, but not before telling the media that she felt “targeted” and “disrespected”. None of her colleagues has come to her rescue, and the Public Security Minister has not made any public statements about the fiasco involving Broomes.
In fact, the senior Public Health Minister, an executive of the coalition alliance of which Broomes is part, went public on Tuesday evening, apologising to the ordinary security guards before saying that “Humility and wisdom are character traits we must always ask of our Creator.” At least that official showed political maturity by admitting that the men were “wrongfully arrested” despite the fact that the Police are still investigating the incident.
This is, of course, not the first fracas a minister from the David Granger Government was involved in since that administration came to power back in 2015. It is not Minister Broomes’s first outburst or tantrum spell. Just look at the “boom out” fiasco in the National Assembly and her track record in other controversial matters relating to perceived conflict-of-interest allegations.
Firstly, the Guyana Police Force must disclose from whom it took orders to arrest and detain the men, if the Minister’s claim is that she had not up to Tuesday submitted an official statement. It must also explain why the Minister and her driver were not subjected to the same treatment, if all parties are to be seen as equal before the law. Additionally, the Force must conduct its probe with impartiality and fairness to all parties.
If the Minister is found to have mislead the public in any way, especially with the very serious allegations which border on attempted murder, then President Granger must act swiftly and institute some form of sanction, since the Minister’s behaviour was in poor taste, and lacked civility as well as political ethics. Surely, President Granger would not tolerate high-handedness and the usage of one’s privileges and office to access special treatment and other benefits.
President Granger has a duty — as he demanded of former Heads of State while in Opposition — to ensure that all members of his Government have the moral and personal integrity to govern. He has argued time and time again that his ministers are not masters of ordinary folks, but servants to all Guyanese, and they must, therefore, conduct themselves in a manner befitting of the offices they hold, and show restraint.
Public decency is an area the President has utilised as a vocal campaign platform, and he must know that all eyes are on him as the saga continues. If nothing is done, a precedent would have been set, especially if the Minister is not vindicated by the Police probe in the end.
