THE Government of Guyana must do a complete and comprehensive investigation into the recent spate of fires that have destroyed public buildings, and threatened institutions here.

The government must not be distracted from vigorously pursuing, to the end, the intellectual authors and persons who are aiming to threaten public law and order, as well as the general good of Guyana.

As of recent, the Brickdam Police Station fire and the Eve Leary fire have left a bad taste in the mouths of Guyanese at home and abroad. Something seems amiss with the timing of these two fires, the location where they occurred, and how they actually started. Mind you, the consequences would have been catastrophic for the law and order sector as well as justice sector, if the DPP building had gone up in flames.

And not to mention the obvious threat of fire swirling around social media and other platforms which seem to promote destruction of public buildings as retaliation against the government.

Firstly, Government must take serious note of the situation, and get to the bottom of the problem. It must redouble the security apparatus for the holiday season and longer, if such threat persists. It must cause a serious change in the Guyana Police and Fire Service hierarchy, if this pattern of fiery destruction of property continues intermittently.

Secondly, the team which will be put to investigate the fires and threats must look into the things that the opposition APNU+AFC politicians are saying on social media platforms. These things can have an impact and influence people in society, as we saw happened in the US in January this year with the Capitol Riot.

Similarly, the opposition APNU+AFC politicians are sending subliminal messages, and are putting forward disruptive ideas in the minds of their gullible supporters.

And the team must be capable to call the names of opposition personalities who are wreaking havoc and mayhem, by instilling undue hostility towards the government, government-owned institutions, and State departments.

Looking at things through the political lens, who would want the DPP building destroyed? Who would benefit from the destruction of the Central Police Station or the Brickdam Police Station? Who would benefit if there was a break down in law and order under the PPP Government’s rule? Who would benefit if the public trust was lost and the public felt insecure?

It does not matter if they are in Guyana or abroad, they must be investigated thoroughly.
Thirdly, Attorney-General Anil Nandlall should fast-track the new cyber-security legislation, as many of these crimes, including the arsons, are believed to have links to Online people. Whilst the fires are being investigated, and public property protected, the AG must start by reforming and piloting changes and penalties.

Finally, the government must never act sheepishly when confronted by these threats to security, in terms of fire and crime. It must investigate properly, and get down to the bones of what is really happening. Government must seek to put an end to this terrorism now, with regards to the fires. The intellectual authors of the fire want to destabilise the economy and country now, with their new-found ‘mo’ fire’ and ‘slow fire’ campaign.

Remember the damage done to property and life during the period of 1997 to 2003 by a version of this campaign.
Now, Guyana can ill afford a resurgence of the things proliferated under this campaign. Government must fight the fire smartly and intelligently to get answers as to who is responsible.