-$2.4B to be used for construction, rehabilitation of police stations

A TOTAL of $58.6 billion has been allocated in this year’s budget to ensure the safety and security of the general public along with improvements in the prison system, police stations and the fire service.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, in presenting the proposed budget for 2023 to the National Assembly on Monday, said that government recognises that delivering safety and security to citizens and businesses is a prerequisite for them to grow, prosper and contribute to the development of the state.

“We are adopting a structured approach to arrive at qualitative improvements that harmonise with our government’s commitment to delivering to the citizens of Guyana, a country with improved safety and security systems,” he said.

The minister explained that the government has allocated a sum of $58.6 billion towards the fulfilment of this vision of a strengthened security sector that will help to maintain the peace and prosperity for a ‘One Guyana’. This sum is $7.1 billion more than what was allotted to the security sector in 2022.

POLICE

In his five-hour long presentation, Dr. Singh said that the Guyana Police Force benefitted from over $1.2 billion in 2022, which was expended towards the construction and rehabilitation of police stations at Anna Regina, Parika, Kamarang, Kurupung, Mahdia, Blairmont and Kato, living quarters at Eve Leary and Port Kaituma.

However, this year a sum of $2.4 billion has been allocated to upgrade police stations and facilities.

“We will continue work towards the construction of Command Centres in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six and 10. Also, works commenced on the construction of CID Headquarters, Special Constabulary Headquarters, Tactical Service Unit Headquarters; living quarters at Beterverwagting and Cove and John; police stations at Baramita, Den Amstel, Tuschen, Mocha, Sparendaam, Rose Hall, Imbaimadai, Eteringbang, Annai, Lethem, and Karasabai; and ICT Training Complexes in Regions One, Four, Five and Nine. Works will also commence on the reconstruction of Brickdam Police Station,” he added.

Among other things, Dr. Singh said that a mobile, quick response police service is key to averting criminal activity and the speedy detection and apprehension of criminals.

This is why last year, the police were given critical support to its transportation fleet with the acquisition of 40 pick-ups, 10 cars, 20 ATVs and 26 motorcycles at a sum of $495 million, which has significantly enhanced the security force’s capabilities to respond in a timely manner to incidents.

As such, this year $500 million is budgeted to continue to support the mobility of the force by expanding its transportation fleet.

In his reading, the minister said in 2022, an amount of $2.5 billion was expended towards improvements in the prevention and detection of criminal activities with the use of ICT solutions through the Safe Country Initiative.

This programme, he said, bolsters the police crime-fighting efforts through the provision and installation of intelligent video surveillance sites, regional command centres to monitor and manage these sites and 911 emergency response facilitation. Thus far, this initiative has already had a demonstrable impact in helping to reduce serious crimes.

As such, $2 billion is provided in this year’s budget for the expansion of the Safe Country Initiative to Regions Three and Six.

Further, Budget 2023 provides $2.1 billion to develop an electronic identification (eID) system to introduce a single electronic identifier, through which each citizen will be assigned a unique national registration number to be used by all public and private sector agencies.

Additionally, the application of forensic crime-fighting capabilities will be bolstered with the acquisition of a DNA analysis workflow system which was acquired in 2022 and will be operationalised this year.

He highlighted that “good policing coupled with professional, well-trained officers is critical to promoting order, safety, and a welcoming environment.”

According to Dr. Singh, over 3,000 ranks were trained in several areas, both locally and regionally, with a sum of $1.290B. Further, in 2023, a total of $140 million has been allocated for the improvement of the investigative and forensic capabilities of a further 3,000 security personnel, which will result in heightened public confidence and support for our law enforcement institutions.

PRISON SERVICE

Meanwhile, as it relates to the Guyana Prison Service, the minister said that government’s overall reform and modernisation programme for the Guyana Prison Service targets the transformation of the prison service from a panel to a correctional service, which promotes an environment where custodial safety is assured, and inmates are rehabilitated and successfully reintegrated into society.

That is why $2.2 billion has been budgeted this year for construction works at Mazaruni and Lusignan, and to commence the reconstruction of the New Amsterdam Prison.

“Furthermore, a sum of $50 million has been allocated to ensure “trade shops” at these facilities are fully equipped to facilitate training in carpentry, joinery, masonry, block making, baking, cooking and other craft and trade activities to allow inmates to acquire life skills so that they can seamlessly re-integrate into society and prevent recidivism,” he said.

He explained that 1,400 inmates were trained in areas such as block making, basic agriculture and culinary arts among others, at a cost of $88.9 million last year.

However, it is anticipated that this year, a further sum of $100M will be expended towards the training of 1,500 inmates. The sum will support their rehabilitation and social transformation in preparation for their exit from the prison system.

“Government will also ensure that the Prison Service is staffed with qualified and competent officers, with the necessary skill set to allow them to effectively navigate this complex environment. To this end, we will invest in prison management training for over 400 prison personnel this year. A total of $5.5 billion is earmarked for the Prison Service in 2023,” Dr. Singh related.

FIRE SERVICE

Shifting focus to the Guyana Fire Service, the minister said that last year $2.7 billion was spent to initiate critical work to boost firefighting activity.

Of this sum, $557M was spent to progress works on critical facilities. The Guyana Fire Service continued work on the construction of the new Fire Service Headquarters at Durban Park, which is a critical and transformational investment that allows the fire service to be housed in a very accessible location, without undue hindrances to its demand for quick response.

Additionally, works have advanced on the construction of fire stations at Leonora, Wales and Ogle. He added that this year’s budget makes a provision of over $545 million to advance these and other initiatives.

Last year, $400 million was expended on the acquisition of several new pieces of firefighting equipment including water bowsers, all-terrain fire fighting vehicles, ambulances, and hydraulic platforms, with the aim of improving response capabilities.

However, this year an allocation of $489 million has been provided for the procurement of several other pieces of equipment for firefighting including water bowsers and tenders, water reservoirs, ambulances and a fully equipped firefighting boat.

“Effective firefighting depends on the ready availability of water. We have therefore embarked on a massive rehabilitation and replacement programme of all non-working fire hydrants in the country.

Of the 188 fire hydrants that were received in July 2022, 47 new installations and 28 replacements were done. In 2023, we will continue the installation of the remaining 113 hydrants by the end of the first quarter. A further 148 fire hydrants will be received in 2023 for installation,” he said.

To complement these initiatives, some $20 million was spent in 2022 to train fire officers to improve their performance and enhance safety at incident sites. Nevertheless, a further $20 million has been allocated for the training of fire officers.