–Vice-President calls for change in police practice of working with private businesses 

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has ordered the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to seek external support in investigating the allegations made by Police Sergeant Dion Bascom about the murder of Ricardo Fagundes, also known as “Paper Shorts”.

This is according to Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who spoke briefly on the matter as he addressed questions during a press conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Friday.
Dr. Jagdeo noted that the President is expected to speak more in-depth on the matter when he returns to Guyana, as he is currently on a State visit to Trinidad.

“I know the President will speak on this matter, so I did not want to be preemptive. I know he has a strong view on this issue; I spoke with him about this matter a few days ago, and he has made it clear that he has given direction to the police force to have a full and complete investigation, and with external support. And so, he will speak a bit more about that issue, once he returns,” Dr. Jagdeo noted.

The Vice-President, however, said that he believes that a current practice, whereby members of the Police Force provide paid services to private businesses and business persons needs to be changed.
This is in light of recent revelations by the police that Bascom’s pursuit of a suspect in Fagundes’ murder, one Mark Richmond, stems from his association with an Essequibo businessman and gold dealer, who is a rival of Richmond’s boss, fellow gold dealer Azruddin Mohamed, with whom the Essequibian has a beef.

Acting Commissioner of Police Clifton Hickens, in a separate press conference earlier this week, noted that Bascom’s association with the Essequibo businessman stems from “moonlighting” or private security work that is legally provided by the Police Force to private citizens.

Dr. Jagdeo said that given the situation that has developed, it is perhaps time that this practice be addressed.
“Some practices may have to change. The Commissioner said this is a sanctioned practice of the police. The police help to escort these gold purchases; the police is then paid, and it’s a standard practice. We have to find another safe way of doing this, because when this happens, there’s a coziness that develops between elements in the police and these people; they are working legally, but the coziness starts developing there. Therefore, things have to change,” the Vice-President said.

Bascom, in a number of social media videos that he released last week, has accused Mohamed of having a hand in disrupting the investigations into Fagundes’ murder probe. Mohamed has since released a statement contending that Bascom’s allegations are baseless, and claimed that he is being targeted by the Essequibo businessman, who is a rival gold dealer.

Richmond and Mohamed have all since written to Bascom about initiating legal proceedings against him for defamatory statements, while the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has since discredited several of the allegations made by Bascom.

The Vice-President is supportive of calls for the allegations made by Bascom to be investigated, saying, “I don’t know whether Bascom is credible or not, but he has made allegations that have to be looked into.”
Expressing his views as General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Dr. Jagdeo said he would not allow the APNU+AFC Opposition to use the situation to tarnish his party’s reputation.

“I’ve been asked my personal views on this matter many times, and a lot of people have been trying to get a feeling as to what our thinking is. As General Secretary of the PPP/C, there is one thing that the PPP will not let happen, and that is to have its reputation sullied by any individual.”
He added: “Their concerns do not preoccupy me at night. The concerns of ordinary people and people we look at in their face; those are the ones that drive us to work hard every single day to change this country.”