THE Paul Slowe-led Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the alleged plot to assassinate President David Granger has recommended among other things, that there be a restructuring of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, revealed Thursday.
During a post-Cabinet press briefing, the minister of state cautiously said, “Preliminarily, what I would say is that the report points to certain areas which require reform in the GPF, which will be the subject of some comment by the British advisor on Security Sector Reform in Guyana.”
In March, Grove businessman Andriff Gillard accused his former friend Nizam Khan of offering him $7M to assassinate President Granger sometime in June 2015; approximately one month after the President was elected to office.
Gillard also accused members of the GPF of covering up and noted that his report to the police was not taken seriously by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Major Crimes Unit, headed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum.
The businessman has also revealed that Police Commissioner, Seelall Persaud, is a good friend of Khan’s brother Imran and it is because of the connection that the matter was not taken seriously.
During the CoI, several police officers were required to testify before the Commission and it was during these testimonies that it was discovered that several long-standing procedures and policies were not followed by those tasked with investigating the allegation.
Slowe, a retired assistant police commissioner had found himself repeatedly questioning the operation of some officers who testified before the commission.
He had made considerable comparison during the hearing to policies he knew existed and the current modus operandi of the officers attached to the CID.
Several senior ranks of the Major Crimes Unit of the CID were accused of being guilty of interference in the investigation of the alleged assassination plot. The surfacing of such information also raised eyebrows as to the management of the Force.
Meanwhile, the guarded minister of state said the report clearly points to the need for reform but was unable to provide additional information in this regard.
In fact, he said the report has to be deliberated at the level of Cabinet after which his administration will make a public statement following which the report will be made public.
It should be noted that several ranks of GPF who were tasked with investigating the matter appeared not to have taken the report seriously, and as a result of their opinions, may not have acted in ways tantamount to their specific roles.
BROAD SWEEPING POLICY
Some two weeks ago during a visit to Lethem, Region Nine, President David Granger announced “a very broad sweeping policy” relating to the security of the country’s porous borders.
“… and some of the issues which actually arose in the CoI are issues which would have been addressed there… that had to do with the way in which the Police Force was organised nationally to deal with the crime situation and the security of our borders,” said Harmon.
He told reporters that the President at that forum pointed to the re-examination of the structure of the Police Force and made specific reference to how the divisional lines are drawn (A-Division to F- Division).
Harmon said divisional boundaries should reflect the actual situation with respect to the administrative regions so that the policing functions, the ranks posted in these areas, the seniority of those persons can be a reflection of the reality which takes place on the ground.
He used Regions Nine, Eight, Seven and One, which all fall within ‘F’ Division of the Force.
“Now these are huge areas of not only land but human activity,” he stated, while noting that changes have to be made to ensure that there is better policing in those areas.
“The way in which we are structured is over 100 years when the Police Force was established. Since then the demographics in the country has changed and the way public life is conducted has changed,” the Minister of State added, while noting that it is important that the issue is addressed soonest.
Last week, the report into the alleged assassination plot was handed over to President Granger at State House by Slowe.
He said he found it “completely unacceptable for any public official to deem the allegation of, or intention to plot to assassinate the President of any country, as being inherently incredible.”
“That is what I found inherently incredible that a person who is appointed to conduct an investigation, without completing an investigation would come to such a conclusion,” said President Granger.
During his testimony at the CoI, Blanhum when asked how he viewed the allegation made by Gillard, responded: “It is my humble opinion that the allegation made by Gillard against Khan is inherently incredible.”
