THE portfolio of the  Ministry of  Home Affairs , also known as the

Ministry of National Security, and of the Interior in many other jurisdictions, ranks among the most delicate  and thankless of cabinet assignments.
Its responsibilities, in comparison with other executive assignments, are very  unique, far reaching, and all encompassing, for its   major functions are   about  the maintenance of law and order, and the protection of the citizenry from criminal attacks. It means, therefore, that any slippage in its daily execution of the duties deemed necessary for ensuring the safety of the state, renders  the latter, inclusive of   its  citizens  to the clear danger  of  attacks from the various segments of criminality.
It is no secret that in the fulfilment of its mandate,  police  agencies in many countries have been the subject of fierce criticisms, because of the  methodology often employed in pursuance of its mandate. In reality, it is “damned if you do, and damned if you do not.” That the  daily function of  maintaining   law and order is never an easy task, especially when the buck stops with the subject executive.
It  hardly needs  debating that Mr Clement Rohee, assumed the reins of Minister of Home Affairs, at what can be described as the most challenging period in the history of law enforcement in this country.  Never before  had citizens  experienced so much fear and trepidation from the criminal gangs that  terrorised all. Definitely, the state had been under siege from  a  criminal attack that struck at will.  No doubt, these murderous forays were well organised, for the precision with which they were carried out. Surely, who will forget the massacres that added the new,  frightening dimension  of multiple deaths at the hands of terrorists who were bent on the state’s destruction?
Such a scenario as briefly outlined would have posed  a serious threat to any administration, in terms of its intensity and purpose. But it took the committed,  quiet, and steely determination of the Minister of Home Affairs, and the  Guyana  Police Force, to bring such a serious threat under control, thereby returning Guyana to a much safer  land than  at the early stirrings of the  Millennium, and even up to a few years ago.
Therefore, to have continued to criticise Minister Rohee for inaction,  in terms of  ensuring the safety of our citizens, deliberately ignores the net results of his stewardship as Minister of Home Affairs, from 2006 onwards. Where are, for example, the  criminal gangs that once terrorised the nation? Wiped off the face of the earth!  There are still dangerous elements that  abound but, the forces of law and order are now   in greater control, and at the ready to confront these  elements whenever they dare raise their heads. Thanks to the billions that are being invested in the security sector.
Finally, It  was  difficult to understand the raison d’etre  for  the parliamentary  opposition’s no-confidence motion  brought against the Honourable  Minister of Home Affairs, supported by  its  frantic belief that  he had been responsible for the Linden deaths.  No doubt, too,  that it  has  began to criticise the findings of the Commission of Inquiry, since  the latter’s  pronounced findings have exonerated the minister.