I was looking at the line of police commissioners and home affairs ministers under the PPP/C’s administration and was shocked at what I found. Not for one instance was there a commissioner or home affairs minister that met the approval of the PNC/R/APNU. I vividly remember the hostile way they went after Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj. There was nothing the minister could do that pleased them. Only negative comments were his rare reviews. They blamed him for all the drug-related killings, even accusing him of setting up a phantom squad that “eliminated Black Youth.”
The situation became so dire that President Jagdeo removed Mr. Gajraj and sent him to India as that country’s ambassador. Jagdeo acceded to the opposition’s demands due to ethical standards and not based on the fact that the minister was not doing his job.
Minister Gajraj was doing an excellent job according to my standards. Unorthodox of course, because he infiltrated their intelligence and pitted one drug lord against the other. During that period those who were destined to die did die, under violent circumstances which the PNCR and their acolytes attributed to Gajraj and a hairy-fairy phantom.
The point is, and that was Gajraj’s theory, let the fools eliminate themselves, why get into that? Why lose sleep over these scum of the earth! You live by the sword then you die by the sword! Can anyone suggest a so-called “ethical way” to deal with drug Lords? The answer is a resounding no.
It is a scourge that does not play by the rules, so how can you deal effectively with that other than going down dirty? Well, Jagdeo thought otherwise, he was concerned with the bloodshed and the negative publicity this situation was generating so he quite rightly removed the minister. I have no qualms with that, but did the drugs trade show any signs of abating or did the drug-related killings cease? A flat out no! Recent trafficking and killings have thrown the drugs discussion wide open again. Mr. Gajraj might well be sitting in his rocking chair and saying I told you so.
Next came Mr. Rohee, and he too was hounded from day one because he started on a road that saw the strengthening of the police force so that they can be better equipped for service-the fixing of police stations, equipping them with vehicles and the setting up of an intelligence unit etc. The judiciary was also spruced up with newer court buildings among other notable achievements.
But did this appease the opposition? Certainly not! It seems that the more you move in the direction of making the society a better place or one that upholds the rule of law, the more the opposition is enraged. Rohee is making the situation livable for citizens of this country, so here’s a minister to get rid of. The same could be said of the Police Commissioners. Starting from Laurie Lewis, Francis McDonald and now Mr. Brummell, they are all blacklisted as incompetent while their tenure is quite to the contrary. The only glitch in the above list was Winston Felix. He is considered a “good boy” in their book because he did their bidding in politicising the force as a PNC appendage. He can be considered one of those from the “kith and kin” factory mould.
During his tenure lawlessness that characterised the force – one of his “notable achievements” being chums with drugs Lord Roger Khan. It was so overwhelming that the government had to surgically remove him. No wonder he is now firmly entrenched in their midst.
So when you step back and take a look at the whole scenario, the opposition has a pattern of not cooperating with anyone who stands for peace and progress.