BRITISH Security Sector Reform Adviser, Russell Combe will this week return to Guyana to serve as adviser to President David Granger for the Security Sector Reform Programme (SSRP), British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn announced Monday morning.
Quinn was at the time addressing the opening of a two-week anti-corruption training course being facilitated by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) and sponsored by the British Government.

“It is my pleasure to confirm that Russell Combe will be returning to Guyana, hopefully later this week for a further one-year appointment as the security sector reform adviser to President Granger,” the British envoy said, adding that the British Government has committed to supporting Guyana on its Security Sector Reform Programme.

Combe first came to Guyana in 2017, when he also served as President Granger’s adviser on the SSRP. At the time of his arrival, he committed to crafting and implanting a five-year strategic report. That report was, earlier this year, handed over to President Granger for his perusal. The report builds on an interim report which Combe had submitted in June 2017.

The earliest attempts at initiating reforms started back in 1999 when British Regional Adviser, Paul Matthias visited Guyana to discuss security assistance from Britain. This was followed by the Symonds Report, and the establishment of the National Security Strategy Organising Committee in 2000.

In 2002, the Border and National Security Committee, the National Consultation on Crime, and the National Steering Committee on Crime were established. It will be recalled that in subsequent years, legislation was passed, more crime fighting bodies were established, and the initial version of the SSRP was signed, but was later scrapped by the former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government.

BRING BACK SSRP
Since taking office in May 2015, President Granger has indicated that it is his administration’s intention to have the SSRP re-introduced.

The programme, which was begun in 2007 and cost US$4.7B, was scrapped in 2009 after the British Government requested to have oversight of the programme to ensure that there was ‘value for money’. The former PPP administration disagreed with the manner in which the British Government wanted the programme to be run, and stated that the British had sought to intrude upon Guyana’s sovereignty.

But in its defence, the British Government said the Government of Guyana had submitted a different proposal which had focused on police modernisation rather than a holistic approach to reform, as was originally requested. The British’s intention was to build a workable basis for improving national security, while reducing crime in Guyana by 2011.
With the implementation of the SSRP, the President believes that Guyana’s security sector will be significantly strengthened. He said that Guyana’s vast and porous borders have allowed for a number of illicit activities to take place, but that once the SSRP is implemented, the country’s security will be significantly strengthened, thereby allowing for enhanced crime-fighting capabilities and a safe and secured country.

Combe is from the Olive Group, which was contracted by Engineering, Design, Construction, Management (AECOM), on behalf of the United Kingdom Government. The former British military officer possesses global expeditionary experience, ranging from hands-on tactical level to the strategic political military interface. He is said to be proficient in the assessment, operational planning and conduct of security operations in complex and multi-agency environments, with host nation police services and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), whilst being mindful of corporate social responsibility and stakeholder engagements.

Additionally, Combe transitioned to risk and security management with the associated training and logistical requirements for the oil and gas sector in East Africa, and humanitarian operations with the Ebola Response Consortium in West Africa. He served as a team leader with a private security company in Mozambique, and has considerable experience in austere, expeditionary environments and in the command and control of operational security in the field.