–Home Affairs Minister says; rubbishes Ramjattan’s claims of ‘mirage’ of development

HIGHLIGHTING that there have been clear signs of a better life for all Guyanese over the last four years, Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn on Monday said that the 2025 budget is intended to continue the transformation of Guyana.
Benn made these remarks as he made his contributions to the budget debate, during which he indicated that this budget represents a special moment for Guyana.
According to the Home Affairs Minister, for persons his age and older, the moment should be special as it will not happen again in their lifetimes.

Benn recalled that when they had announced that oil had been found, it was called an elections gimmick by persons in the opposition benches, and now that the benefits of this oil are upon the country, some persons seem to be upset.
“Now that the money is flowing into the country, people are upset, people are angry, people are hapless and hopeless about the fact that this gimmick is a real thing; that the people of Guyana could for the first time in decades be at the point where they could see their way forward to progress, peace and prosperity,” he said.

Responding to statements made by opposition Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan, the minister said that while Ramjattan referred to the development taking place across the country as a “development mirage” this is furthest from the truth.
He said: “There are some people mostly on that side and some on social media and some parts of the press that [sic] walk on the roads, drive on the roads, go into the new schools, see new prisons, new police stations, new fire stations and all of those things in reality and will come here and say it’s a mirage.”

Benn further expressed disappointment in the statements made by Ramjattan— former Minister of Public Security under the APNU+AFC administration.
However, Benn told the House that this year’s budget speaks to making Guyana safe and improving safety and security as a function of protecting Guyana’s development.

In this regard, the Home Affairs Minister underscored that the government has placed a focus on expanding the footprint of the police presence in all regions across Guyana.
“The honourable member Ramjattan speaks of police stations that we’re building… I’d like to know how many [were] built in his time… tell us how many new police stations that you built or new infrastructure for the police that you built, or new vehicles that you got for the police in respect of improving crime and security,” he said, responding directly to the opposition MP.

Against this backdrop, he listed some of the stations that have been completed in 2024, those being at Den Amstel, Monkey Mountain, Vreed-en-Hoop, Mocha, Providence, Sparendaam, Lethem, Annai, Baramita and Imbaimadai, among others.
Further, he indicated that the government has also made a large investment in terms of procuring vehicles with some $262 million invested in procuring drones, all-terrain vehicles, and motorcycles along with a long list of equipment which has been delivered to support crime-fighting efforts.
As regards the Guyana Prison Service, Benn indicated that there have been significant efforts towards enhancing security measures at the prisons to prevent escapes and further work to modernise the operating procedures and improve the training and readiness of the officers stationed there.
The Home Affairs Minister further disclosed that the government has prioritised and will continue to invest in efforts to improve the services of the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Prison Service and the Guyana Fire Service.