Minister exhorts communities to work together
-to create safer neighbourhoods
THE Citizens Security Programme (CSP) of the Ministry of Home Affairs hosted a workshop on ‘Citizens Working Towards Sustainable Safe Neighbourhoods’ yesterday at the Regency Suites hotel in Hadfield Street, Stabroek, Georgetown. Home Affairs Minister, Clement Roheee delivered the feature address to participants. He expressed confidence that the workshop would be historical because it is the first of many to follow. Rohee added that there will be many challenges, but there will also be many opportunities.
“I call upon you to be supportive of this, and (to) find the pathway for us to work together, not only by making our neighbourhoods safe, but by making our country safer,” he emphasized.
According to the minister, the CSP enables the ministry to move away from the broad perspective of security to a narrow one which deals directly with neighbourhoods. He believes that the general perspective of security does not mean much to an average person, but when security is taken to the level of a community, it becomes of interest to everyone in that neighbourhood.
“We get away from the general perspective of security and come to something more concrete. It means much more to a community, because people feel more attached, and they are more concerned about what is happening in their neighbourhood,” the minister said.
He indicated it was necessary to have the workshop because much work was done in the programme, such as projects, activities and training programmes for youth, from which a number of person have already graduated. All this has been done with a view to creating safer neighbourhoods.
“This workshop is the vehicle that will take us to our final destination, which is to have safer neighbourhoods,” Minister Rohee said.
He emphasized that every citizen must have a common interest in making their neighbourhood safe; and if the neighbourhood in which we live is safe, then we must work together to make it safer.
A number of stakeholders must necessarily be involved in helping to create safe neighbourhoods, but the core group to begin the project must comprise people in the targeted community.
The CSP aims to empower and educate citizens, and get them involved in a cooperative effort to create safer neighbourhoods.
“I believe this is the direction that we will take: to encourage you to embark on the spread of the word in creating safe neighbourhoods,” Rohee said.
CSP Community Action Specialist Roseanne Purnwasie, present at the workshop, said the programme has brought much improvement to the community in terms of reducing crime and violence. She said that, during the programme, youths were also engaged in crime prevention sessions.
A presentation on “Realizing Safe Neighbourhoods” was conducted at the workshop by Mr. Khemraj Rai, Project Coordinator of CSP. Thereafter, the workshop was divided into five groups –Buxton/Friendship; Annandale/Lusignan/Good Hope; Plaisance/Vryheid’s Lust; Sophia; and Agricola/Mc Doom. Facilitators for the groups were Reverend Kwame Gilbert, Khemraj Rai, Floyd Mc Donald, Ivelaw Whittaker, Bishop Juan Edghill, and Roseanne Purnwasie.
The Citizens Security Programme (CSP) was launched in 2007, beginning the Community Action Component (CAC) with the aim of addressing crime and violence through social development strategies. The goal of the programme is to assist communities to become sustainably functional as neighbourhoods in which all persons are included in the creation of a safe environment, and young people are provided with opportunities that will prevent them from participating in criminal and violent activities.