THE ordinary man-in-the-street will be able to have his concerns addressed and make enquiries on issues of interest as well as to build confidence and dialogue with communities.

Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee yesterday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with six agencies for the establishment of Houses of Justice in Regions 1 and 3 to address the social issues of citizens at the grassroots level in the community.

The signing took place with the stakeholders at the ministry’s head office at Brickdam, Georgetown.

The six agencies involved are the Guyana Police Force (GPF), National Insurance Scheme (NIS), Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, General Register Office, Community Policing Secretariat and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

Minister Rohee said that the Houses of Justice programme is the first of its kind in Guyana and an innovation in addressing community-based issues that a team from Guyana observed in Colombia under the auspices of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Citizen Security Programme (CSP).

He noted that having gone there and studied the Caribbean experience and having returned to Guyana it was felt by the body that meets on a monthly basis that it would be a useful tool for us to pursue in establishing Houses of Justice here to serve the people at the grassroots level.

Rohee added that on December 31, 2012 during a meeting with members of the public reference was made to the Houses of Justice Council as a multi-agency service centre to address pressing needs of people on the ground.

He recalled making the following point at that time: “Houses of Justice will produce a novel approach to individual concerns, conflict resolution, and limiting the everyday frustrations that people face, that is, the ‘royal run-around’ in accessing public services, bringing together under the same roof several official institutions in charge of providing social services and public safety.”

The minister said that they have been pursuing the matter and they have now reached a point where the MOU was signed with the stakeholders. He added that he was pleased with the process.

Rohee said that sometimes ‘social barnacles’ attach themselves to several public services, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting persons who are usually taken advantage of when they try to access information and assistance in many instances.

He stated that such persons usually become victims of persons – ‘social barnacles’ – who fleece them and that is why the Houses of Justice was set up to render the necessary assistance to citizens, who sometimes do not know where to turn.

Rohee said that the Houses of Justice will operate in the afternoon (at 4:00 pm) to provide services to the citizens at an opportune time which caters for single parents and even working people.

He noted that instances of the glaring issue of domestic violence can be addressed by the stakeholders attached to the Houses of Justice.

Also making remarks was Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Bishop Juan Edghill, who lauded the stakeholders for their efforts in the realisation of the Houses of Justice yesterday.

Edghill stated that the Houses of Justice was established to address in a timely manner the everyday issues of citizens and commended Minister Rohee for his stewardship and at the same time called on citizens to make use of the Houses of Justice in Regions 2 and 3.

He explained that with the Houses of Justice the ordinary man-in-the-street will be able to have his concerns addressed and make enquiries on issues of interest as well as to build confidence and dialogue with communities.

Houses of Justice are multi-agency service centres that will be established within communities and geared towards addressing social and pressing issues at the community level, and are designed to provide access to public service.

The project is aimed at eliminating the everyday frustrations of citizens in accessing public services and bringing together key agencies responsible for providing such services.

In the initial stage the ministry will bring together stakeholders from six agencies such as the GPF General Registry Office, NIS, GPL, Ministry of Labour and CPG secretariat to render advisory services to residents where Houses of Justice are established.

The MOU saw the establishment of 10 Houses of Justice in Regions 2 and 3 with five being established in each region.