There’s talk once again about “reforming” the Police Force. Yep…again!! This has been going on so many times that the real question is: why the task’s never been completed?? Your Eyewitness has expatiated (ad nauseum!!) as to why there’s the NEED for reform. There are the colonials, who wanted to keep us as loyal Kikuyus, and Burnham, who wanted to keep us as loyal bowers and scrapers! They ensured the Police were trained to keep their knees on our necks. Well, on the necks of most of us!!
So where do we begin to count the ways why Police reform never got nowhere?? Let’s start with the Government in question that succeeded Burnham and his successor Hoyte – the PPP. Now, if there’s ANY Government that should’ve wanted – no, yearned! – to straighten the Police, it would be them. After all, hadn’t the Police hounded and harassed them for the (in)famous 28 years?? Well, Rodney and the WPA did draw the fire away from them between 1974 and 1980. But yet!!
So, what went down?? Some say Laurie Lewis, the Head of Police they inherited, might’ve had “files” on them. But your Eyewitness don’t buy that! While there had to’ve been some amount of peccadilloes committed, they couldn’t have amounted to much. Jagan was Mr Clean, and he’d showed that if any of his underlings stepped off the straight and narrow, he made sure they took the rap.
Others say they might’ve been afraid they were going to be overthrown by the Police, which the 1992 elections showed 92% of them supported the PNC. Yes…dear reader – they used to announce how the Disciplined Forces voted!! But let’s get serious, shall we?? Have you EVER heard of a Police Force overthrowing a GOVERNMENT?? A hot-dog stand, maybe – but NOT a Government!! Police are trained to think very LOCAL level – like hustling motorists for a fried rice – but not hustling a head of state out of office!!
Your Eyewitness believes there’s a much simpler answer. Jagan never liked firing people: Hoyte had been ordered by the IMF to slim down the bloated Civil Service, and had started to do so. But Jagan refused to continue the axing. Not that he got any credit for that…but that was him and his “working class”!! His successors – Janet and Jagdeo – however, might’ve been more hard-nosed – but they were confronted immediately by a rampaging PNC under Desmond Hoyte’s “slow-fyaah; mo fyaal” strategy!! They desperately needed the Police to keep the peace by any means necessary, and they weren’t about to poke no ants’ nest!!
Then, after the Police came under fire and suffered the most losses EVER in their 163 years’ history, a shakeup became harder.
But how about now??
…the PNC
After democracy was restored in 1992, the PNC riggers were given the bum’s rush as their “Committee to RE-Elect the President” (CREEP) failed to gain traction, they faced a dilemma. NO…not how to explain how they actually went to the polls backed by CREEPs!! Nah…but how to tell ANYBODY they were supporting DEMOCRACY!!? After all, nobody heard any booming voice from the heavens to suppose there was a Damascene Conversion!!
Well, Hoyte set the ball rolling with the PNC-Reform (PNC/R) in 2001 by imitating the PPP’s “CIVIC” with a welter of new, fresh faces. Didn’t work, and he passed on. Corbin then had the bright idea of creating the PNC/Reform/One Guyana. But the acronym came out PNC-R1G!!! Couldn’t live it down at the 2006 elections. By 2011, they linked up with 4 paper “parties”, dumped their name, and called themselves APNU – and did better!!
For 2015, they hitched up with the AFC as APNU/AFC and took Government!! Then Granger had APNU try to RIG!!
Back to square one, Aubrey!!
…the AFC
WE all know you can’t cash the same cheque twice, don’t we?? So what is Ramjattan gonna be doing with the AFC now that he’s announced they’ll be going solo come 2023??
Claim he was possessed after 2015??
