AFC says ‘gravely concerned’ at upsurge in crime, road fatalities
The Alliance for Change (AFC) has expressed its discomfiture with what it sees as the rising levels of crime in the country including at state-run institutions.
In a release on Wednesday, the AFC stated that it has noted with “grave concern,” the upsurge in crime, road fatalities, domestic violence and activities “which make Guyana seemingly an insecure place.” It added that corruption - both petty and large-scale – “run riot” in Government and its various institutions.
The AFC sees all this as a state of insecurity that will be a driver for further migration to other lands of the country’s skilled and professional workers, as well as deter genuine, legitimate foreign investors. It also posited that key obstacles to getting it right in the public security sector include corruption within law enforcement and “impunity and complicity.”
As far as the party is concerned, the PPP/C government has no intention to admit to, much less address these keys obstacles, nor to demand from law enforcement the transparency and accountability needed. It cautioned that failure to discontinue the major overhaul of the security sector commenced by the Coalition Government will end in disaster.
In light of its concerns, the AFC has listed a number of initiatives that it is urging the government to implement: a) recommence the implementation of the recommendations of the British Security Sector Reform; b) craft a policing strategy that is compatible with democracy and not a strong-man nor an iron-fisted state; c) actively work with communities to prevent the public from distrusting law enforcement while at the same time incentivizing good and effective police behaviour through training, merit-based selection and promotion procedures, and delivering better salaries and benefits, and implementing rigorous evaluation programmes; d) channeling more resources, now available under the PSA 2016, into anti-corruption vetting systems for especially senior officers of the GPF for personnel screening tests and recruitment accountabilities scrutiny; e) adopt a wider surveillance system, expanding on the Smart City project earlier started in Coalition Government; and f) enhancing road signing infrastructure and continuing it to help drivers on our roads.