THE People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) hit back at former Police Commissioner, Winston Felix for criticisms he made recently over the allocation of resources to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and accused him of trying to give instructions to Assistant Commissioner, George Vyphuis outside City Hall on Nomination Day.
Speaking on the Felix statements, over the last week, were Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee and Attorney-at-Law, Anil Nandlall at a Freedom House press conference yesterday.
Rohee said Felix does not know “where the buck stops” in what he called issuing instructions to Vyphuis during what he described as a melee on Nomination Day last week Thursday.
Rohee congratulated Vyphuis for not adhering to the “instructions” from the former Commissioner.
The minister observed that, today, political meetings go on in a manner that is unlike in the past and the Nomination Day fracas involving members of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was uncalled for. “No longer are meetings broken up and persons pelted with gander eggs,” as has happened in the past. But he said that he becomes worried whenever manifestations of this sort of behaviour come up.
Rohee urged political parties to encourage their supporters to desist from raucous behaviour. “I don’t want people to believe that we are pressing the panic button.”
Continuing, he challenged Felix on his record of achievements during his time as Police Commissioner from 2004 to 2006. “What did Mr. Felix do when he was Police Commissioner?” he asked. “Did he take steps to reform the Police Force?” he enquired, in light of Felix criticising how the Force was administered.
About Felix’s claim that the Force was starved for resources during his term as Commissioner, Rohee deemed it inaccurate and presented data to the contrary. He said, in 2004, the budgetary allocation to the Police Force was $2.9 billion; in 2005 it was $3.1 billion; in 2006 it was $3.6 billion and in 2007 the figure was $4.5 billion.
Pre-empting a question, about all of the allocations made, Rohee declared: “Whether we are receiving value for money is a matter of perception,” he said, noting that crime is universal.
The minister maintained, though, that the Government is providing the resources to the police, despite the statements to the contrary by Felix.
“It boggles the mind that a former Commissioner of Police could make such statements in public,” Rohee said, adding that the Guyana delegation has just returned from a Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) meeting in The Bahamas, where this country was lauded for its work in the field of community policing, for which Guyana was identified as being the most progressive in the region.
CAMPAIGNING FREELY
On critical assertions by APNU Presidential Candidate, David Granger, the minister wondered whether the latter feels safe in Guyana but assumed this must be the case, since Granger and others are campaigning freely. “Our security is pro-people. That is why we have passed so many pieces of legislation [that are security related],” he said.
He called Granger’s statements on the state of security in Guyana political and aimed at scoring political points, stating that the APNU Leader should tell Guyana what advice he gave to the leaders of the previous administration on how to make Guyana secure.
Referring to Alliance For Change member Moses Nagamootoo as ‘Nagarrrrrrrrrrr’, Rohee said that this man is trying to give the impression that he and Khemraj Ramjattan – in the early days – were the only two concerned about the crime situation in the country.
Rohee posited that it was not just the raising of the issue but the conclusion of the discussions on it that mattered. “Fighting the drug trade is an ongoing issue in the party. There is no absence of political will to fight drug trafficking.”
Nandlall said he was not at all surprised by Felix’s declaration of support for the APNU and alluded to the recording made which purported to have captured the former Commissioner speaking with a member of the Opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) on sensitive security issues.
“The Police Force is not to be an instrument of political direction,” he said, adding that, because of that tape, Felix violated the Police Act which speaks to being independent of political direction.
Regarding what Felix said concerning resources for the Force, Nandlall said there was no other point in time when the police had so much allocated to it in terms of resources. “I believe that we are getting results but we need to get more,” said Nandlall. He said the crime fight is a work in progress but that Government will expect more results. 
“It is unfair for anyone in the Opposition to say that the administration has done nothing to improve law and order and the administration of justice,” he said.