SUBJECT Minister Dominic Gaskin has said the Private Sector Commission (PSC) is yet to formally engage the Ministry of Business (MoB) on the issue of crime and security, although its members are standing by the concerns they recently articulated in the press.“As Minister of Business, if the private sector is saying that crime is a concern, it concerns me. I am concerned,” Minister Gaskin told Guyana Chronicle in a recent interview.

Saying he is cognisant that the Public Security Ministry (PSM) is working to further reduce the incidence of violent crime in the country, Minister Gaskin said, “I, unfortunately, think that we are reacting to newspaper reports; and I think (that) while the private sector has to react to something, I think it is more useful to have a discussion about a particular set of data, or figures, or information…,” he posited.

He said that once the impact of crime on the private sector is clearly identified and measured, the key stakeholders would be better able to put effective solutions in place.

Minister Gaskin also said he looks forward to discussing the issue of crime formally with the Private Sector Commission.

“I would welcome a discussion on this. I think it is very important that we have such a discussion. I don’t think that discussion should take place in the media, and I am not saying that the private sector shouldn’t voice their concerns in public, but I am saying that the solutions are not going to come through the back-and-forth in the media,” he posited.

The PSC, last Friday, expressed concern that the crime situation in the country was escalating, and called on President David Granger to intervene. The business umbrella body said Government should acknowledge publicly “that we have a problem with crime in Guyana”, noting that it is the only way “we can start to address the issue once all parties can acknowledge that a problem persists, and start demanding collaboration across the board.”

The PSC also wants the President, his ministers and all stakeholders to send a strong signal to criminals that crime will no longer be tolerated. “We would like to encourage all stakeholders, including the Government, police, judiciary and civil society, to review the sentencing of persons charged with armed and violent robberies, to ensure that these charges are not subject to bail and that they are subject to appropriate sentencing, which should be handed down by all magistrates. In this light, we believe a collaborative approach is needed,” the organisation proposed.

Additionally, the PSC has said it wants to see President Granger, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, publicly give the orders “for our men and women in uniform to bring some order and control with respect to these criminal gangs and individuals terrorising the Guyanese community.”

The PSC has said that while it commends Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and Police Commissioner (ag) David Ramnarine for the recent reduction in serious crime, “our country nevertheless remains unprotected from guns flowing across our borders into the hands of violent criminals virtually without restraint. Our country remains with a Police Force which is inadequately staffed, insufficiently trained, and underequipped to meet the challenge. Our citizens are traumatised by fear of almost every day having a gun pointed at them with criminal intent. Our businesses, our banks, our tourism industry and our everyday lives are under threat. This is not the good life. It is time that our President intervenes.”