Dear Editor
I’M sitting here wondering if I have basic comprehension skills, or if Minister Henry is suffering from an inability to effectively inform and engage the citizens of this country? If I must say I believe it’s the latter. On January 30, 2017, an article from News Source headlined: “Mashramani parade route to be extended -Minister Henry” The article stated that during an interview with a popular morning show on the radio, Minister Henry said her department had listened to the concerns of the people and decided to have an extended route for our annual Mashramani parade. I am here wondering which set of citizens they were listening to and what really did they hear? I personally have not seen calls for an extension of the route, but rather I’ve seen various stakeholders complaining as to how the route will affect them. Mainly, persons are complaining about the lack of available space along the route for families to sit picnic-style as they did along Church Street for many years. Vendors have also been complaining as to the limited space that will be available for vending.
One of the main points I continue to hear from Minister Henry and her department is ‘security risk’, leaving me to wonder if Minister Henry is of the view that the security forces are incompetent as it relates to security measures for national events. Note that I’m saying this on the basis that none of those security risks were shared with the public. The explanation given was that if the parade were to start at the Bank of Guyana or Camp and Church Streets, along Church Street then into Durban Park, it would pose a security threat to the Ministry of The Presidency. Must I remind the minister and her department that there are four Government ministries on Brickdam, namely: the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth & Sport, Ministry of Natural Resources and The Ministry of Public Health. The Ministry of Education alone has four buildings along the route and there is also the Department of Housing from the Ministry of Communities and The Labour Department of the Ministry of Social Protection on Brickdam. I won’t be surprised if I missed a few government buildings as I have now come to realise how numerous they are. The question however is, is it that the security concerns that apply to the Ministry of The Presidency is not applicable to those other ministries?
I’m wondering, if they are security concerns as they relate to the Ministry of the Presidency, then why not have a controlled approach as compared to the open affair that I can foresee. Now if the route were to take Church Street into Vlissingen Road into Durban Park, the area from Regent Street to South Road could be a pathway for floats and revellers alone, which should reduce significantly whatever fear there is of having people congregating in front of the Ministry of the Presidency. Instead, what we will have is Regent Street and Vlissingen Road being a bus and car terminal for the day, which will result in thousands of citizens traversing the path from Regent Street to Durban Park, which I think should be more of a security concern than have a controlled parade pass through.
Lastly, if there is really a serious security concern about the parade passing the Ministry of The Presidency, then shouldn’t there be an even greater concern that the final leg of the parade is at Durban Park? I mean sensibly speaking, Durban Park is a stone’s throw away from the Ministry of The Presidency and will house about 20,000 plus persons inclusive of those who will be on the outside, so if something were to happen (God Forbid) what makes the Ministry of The Presidency any less vulnerable to the security concerns? All this has me wondering if Minister Henry is fit and proper to run this department, maybe, just maybe, President Granger has missed one while considering his cabinet shift.
Regards
Clayon F. Halley