Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said last weekend that his Ministry, dissatisfied with the services rendered by Brans Security firm at its main offices on Brickdam, and following the fire which destroyed the complex, has terminated the security firm’s contract.

It was replaced by the Roshan Khan Security firm, and this is in an effort to improve security at that location, Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said.

Addressing the media at a press conference held at the National AIDS Programme Secretariat on Saturday, Dr Ramsammy forcefully made the point that his ministry has conceded that the security firm on guard at the compound on the night of the fire, ‘is not a very strong one.’

He recalled that when he arrived on the scene that morning, the security guards could not even tell him where the keys were. That, he feels, is sufficient indication that they were functioning ineffectively.

With word now received that people had entered the Ministry’s compound and thrown channa bombs at the building, even though Brans Security was on site, the Minister said: “I need to know what happened…They need to come and explain to me what happened [on the morning of the fire.]”

He said they were removed from the site the same day, and replaced by another security firm.

Asked where in the Ministry the fire started, and whether any of the ranks on duty have been detained following the fire, Dr Ramsammy that it had started on the top floor of the building, and that the guards had been questioned by the police, but he could not say whether they were detained.

The Minister gave details confirming that the security arrangements have since been considerably ‘beefed up’, with armed personnel and radio sets, in addition to two police personnel being placed on guard at the gates. He confirmed that in addition to the Brans security guards, there were two police officers on guard at the Ministry’s compound on the night of the fire.

Dr Ramsammy was adamant that the security firm has to be more responsible and needs to be penalised for things that happen at the Ministry of Health. He pointed to vehicles periodically being found to be tampered with and windscreens removed. “They cannot enter into paid contracts and not be responsible for what happens on site,” he said indignantly.

The Health Minister expressed the view that security firms in Guyana generally need to be more responsible.

Dr Ramsammy explained that even though the building has been gutted by fire, the compound still remains an active site, and everything is being done to ensure it is adequately secured, and that goes for all of the Ministry’s sites.