– Riverine and coastland residents air their views
The National Commission on Law and Order (NCLO), headed by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, continues its outreach to the various administrative regions in an effort to garner the views and recommendations of Guyanese citizens with regard to public order and safety.
The most recent consultation saw residents of riverine communities such as Wakapau, Akawini and Friendship, along the Pomeroon River, as well as on the Essequibo coast, Region Two, interacting with members of the Commission, including Ministers of Home Affairs and Transport and Hydraulics Clement Rohee and Robeson Benn, and Ronald Harsawack from the Office of the President.
Most of the issues and concerns expressed by the residents were similar to those raised at consultations in Regions Three, Four and Six. These include noise nuisance, stray animals on the public road, acquisition of firearm licences, use of illicit drugs, youth gangs, violence against women, irresponsible garbage disposal, issuance of birth certificates, land titling and more effective policing.
Addressing the residents, Minister Rohee said that the NCLO was established out of a meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government where the need for greater involvement of citizens, particularly with regard to security, was realised.
“We have to be able to find the solutions to these problems, and not only point to the problems, and that is why these meetings are important as they give us a chance to interact with the persons who are directly affected,” he said.
As it relates to the issuance of birth certificates, the Minister said that the General Register Office, which also falls under his responsibility, usually sends out teams to various areas where such issues are addressed.
Minister Rohee said that the People’s Progressive Party Administration has identified three categories of people to be given priority when considering issuing such firearm licences. These include farmers, Amerindians, and businessmen.
He also urged residents to make official applications if they fall under any of these categories or believe that they have legitimate reasons to be licenced firearm holders.
Responding to the issue of illicit drugs, the Minister lamented that it is a major problem in Guyana.
He said that Government has procured helicopters which are being used by the Joint Services to detect and destroy marijuana fields.
“We need what is called collective security and that is why we encourage people to form Community Policing Groups (CPGs), Neighbourhood Police, and Rural Constables (RCs).”
CPGs are given the appropriate training and equipment to perform a voluntary service to protect their community. Neighbourhood police fall under the Police Act, and as such they are paid personnel. RCs on the other hand, are paid whenever they are called out to duty by the Commissioner of Police.
“These groups of persons assist the police wherever they do not have a permanent presence, such as a police station or outpost,” Minister Rohee explained.
The Minister also expressed his disappointment with the irresponsible dumping of coconut husks and other refuse in the Pomeroon River, which he referred to as an environmental crime.
He asserted that Government is working to introduce new legislation to ensure that such deviant activities are discontinued and he urged the residents to be more mindful of the way they treat the environment.
With regard to concerns relating to the movement of people, goods and services along the Guyana-Venezuela border, the Minister said that Government is working towards establishing some control fundamentally with the presence of the joint services (Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force).
“Wherever the Government recognises that there is a port of entry, it is conventional to have joint services representation as well as Customs and Immigration, ” he said.
Addressing the issue of the proliferation of stray animals on the roadways, Minister Rohee said that the Ministry is encouraging persons to apply for jobs as official stray catchers.
He explained that having rehabilitated and/or established animal pounds at various police stations across the country, his Ministry is now moving to the next step which includes recruiting stray catchers and sensitising them to laws and standard operating procedures as it relates to impounding animals.
Recruited persons will be given uniforms so that they could be identified as official stray catchers. Trucks officially designated to transport the strays to the pounds will also be provided.
The Minister noted that “people who uphold the laws, very rarely will oppose measures to enforce them; but the people who protest law enforcement are the ones who are undermining the laws.”
Responding to issues relating to noise nuisance, he said that Government has put in place laws that provide for the prosecution of owners or operators of public transportation as well as any other individual who attempts to play continuous, amplified music to the annoyance of another person.
Minister Benn spoke in response to encumbrances along the roadways and Government reserves.
He advised that Officers from his Ministry will be turning their attention to Charity within a few weeks to demolish structures which pose traffic hazards along the public road.
He also called on the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the police to be more vigilant in monitoring the situation so as to prevent persons from establishing structures where they pose a risk and where permission is not granted.
“There is recourse in the law such as fines and possible jail terms if people refuse to respond favourably to the steps that will be taken by the Ministry,” Minister Benn cautioned.
Additionally, he noted that arrangements are in place for people to be surcharged for damage to public property.
He further explained that the Roads Act allows for the seizure and disposal of any object that is viewed as hazardous and impinging on public safety.

The Ministry has responded to calls for street lights in the Region and Minister Benn said the programme will be further advanced to facilitate other areas.
“We want to be able to install street lights throughout the country, on our public highways particularly, and in heavily populated areas, because we know that there is a reduction in road accidents in areas where lighting is enhanced,” he posited.
He said that several bridges are earmarked to be reconstructed this year in the region, and that more funds were provided for the rehabilitation of community roads along the coast in every region, including Essequibo.
Member of the Commission, Ronald Harsawack, in brief remarks, said that issues raised that cannot be dealt with immediately will be taken to the Commission meeting where solutions will be recommended for implementation.
He reminded that the maintenance of law and order does not only involve the police, but ordinary Guyanese citizens as well, as they may be the ones with the best solutions.
The NCLO comprises members of the Government, faith-based organisations, trade unions, political parties, the business community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
(GINA)