IN 2010, the Government of Guyana, under a PPP-led administration, approved the purchase of one Armoured Riot Water Cannon Truck.According to the report of the forensic audit done by the professional auditing and accounting firm of Nizam Ali and Company, this purchase was made at the behest of then Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee. This minister, it has been revealed, had advised his Cabinet colleagues that the Police Force needed the machine to engage in crowd control for the 2011 General and Regional Elections.

It has been learnt that the minister was never so advised by the police of the need for this machine, nor was the Force engaged in any consultation of this sort. Further, Assistant Police Commissioner David Ramnarine is of the view that this vehicle is unsuitable for crowd dispersal here.

The purchasing cost for the vehicle ($20.8M) vis-a-vis what the public has been told was its price ($37M), coupled with the $1M already spent on repairs and needed maintenance costs, points to the importance of this audit.
This audit allows the tax-paying public an insight into how their money was and is being spent; and the process, or lack thereof, elected and appointed officials engaged on the people’s behalf.

While Mr. Rohee has insisted there was consultation with the Police Force through then Police Commissioner Henry Green — who is now deceased and can tell no tale — what holds our interest is the belief that a water cannon was needed.

A water cannon is considered one of the most barbaric methods to disperse a crowd. Those familiar with African-American Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s — to ensure the universality of the US Independence Declaration that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” — saw the resulting barbarity of this machine. The velocity of water this machine spews at its targets often results in injuries. Known, too, is that the water cannons, ferocious dogs, and guns failed to kill the people’s spirit or suppress their desire. It took a while, yes, but the USA Government, through laws, policies and programmes, has put in place systems to nurture and ensure equality for all races.

Reportedly, the first truck-mounted water cannons were used for riot control in Germany in the beginning of the 1930s, which was during Adolf Hitler’s leadership. The horrid stories of Hitler’s Nazi government, including the millions of Jews who were either decimated or displaced from their homes on his watch, and the resulting World War II, are known. It should be of concern that the Government of Guyana, given these historical antecedents, thought it fitting to import and use such a machine on its citizens.

Ours is a history that includes struggles by our forebears against slavery, indentureship and colonialism. It also includes struggles of the working class and other groups for equal rights, justice and fair play. It is a history marked with violence by the oppressors against the oppressed. In spite of the violence, it never tempered the will or killed the determination of the people to be free and improve their conditions of living. If violence did not prevent such pursuits and aspirations, it was either foolhardy thinking or a desire to live in a dark period that would move government to procure a machine that would result in injuries and loss of lives of citizens and destruction to properties.

Where everyone has descended from those who fought to free this country from domination (political, economic and cultural), and in that we are living under laws that guarantee rights and freedoms, a government that governs best is a government that pays heed to these inalienable principles, and works with all its citizens to ensure they are not suppressed.

It is left to be seen what will happen to the water cannon, and to what use, if any, it will be converted. Decidedly, Guyana does not need a water cannon to resolve differences among groups, or prevent any group from enjoying what’s guaranteed in law. Further, it is the responsibility of the Police Force to offer such groups protection in conjunction with ensuring non-participants and properties are safeguarded.