-MPs conference hears
The illicit drug trade remains the toughest public safety challenge in the region, which needs to confront problems like the unemployment of young people and the proliferation of firearms which are being exploited by criminal enterprises.
Addressing “Challenges in Public Safety” when the 34th Annual Regional Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas and the Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) continued yesterday at the Guyana International Conference Centre, participants noted the heavy losses suffered by their economies as a result of crime. Two starkly contrasting presentations were made by Jamaica’s Speaker Delroy Chuck and Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who however both agreed on the importance of a regional approach.
With Jamaica losing nearly 5% of its GDP annually as a result of crime, House Speaker Delroy Chuck acknowledged that the problem is more severe in the island than in rest of the Caribbean. As a result of crime, he said huge amounts are being spent on security by both the public and private sector, while the situation continues to place a heavy burden on state agencies, especially hospitals. He identified “guns, gangs and drugs” as the major contributors to the situation and noted that in some instances, inner city communities in the island have been overtaken by criminal gangs. “In these communities, it is not the state that run things,” Chuck said, “It is the criminal gangs that control and run things.”
Chuck added that the legislators are not throwing their hands in the air but have to face the reality that they have not overcome the problems although they are doing everything possible. As an example, he explained that one of the ways of neutralising gangs is engaging them along with religious leaders and the police. He said a lot could be done if political representatives recognise that gang members are “legitimate members” of the communities. “The only way you can solve the problem is you have to deal with them,” he said, noting that a lot of people do not believe they should be engaged. “So you engage them in legitimate activity… I don’t talk to them unless a pastor and a police are present in a group like this… and that is how we have been able to neutralise gang warfare in Jamaica,” he added.
According to Chuck, Jamaica has managed to reduce the amount of cocaine flowing into the country but he reported that the drug trade is still alive and well in the Caribbean region, where it is still a major source of wealth. He added that there is large section of the population that believes it is their right to use marijuana as well as persons who pay huge amounts for the cultivation of the plant for export.
Meanwhile, he classified gangs as an economic problem, explaining that they are the result of large numbers of young men, between the ages of 16 and 25, most of whom have left school without the education and skills needed for employment. This has made them easy targets of crime bosses who use them to fight turf wars for control. “And when they control the turf, they are able to extort, they are able to rob and to control economic activities in these areas,” he pointed out, later noting that a lot of murders are the result of the gang violence and reprisals. He said alternative occupation and vocation needs to be found for young men, which he thought would go a far way towards resolving most of the challenges of public safety on the island. Asked about social interventions, he noted that billions have been spent on projects in inner city communities but noted that instant gratification of lucrative criminal activity has proved to have greater appeal. “The real problem is the lack of opportunity to capture the young minds,” he added.
The access to guns, Chuck added, compounds the gang problem and he said the weapons have been sourced primarily from the United States and there has been a lack of cooperation by international agencies in checking the flow of guns. However, he noted a new phenomenon that has seen drug trade with Haiti in exchange for guns. In the Jamaican inner city communities, he said, there is no shortage of guns.
The corruption of the police force is also a major challenge to public safety, Chuck said, adding that there is a feeling that law enforcement has been compromised to such an extent that there is a general feeling that an entirely new force is needed to combat crime. “The truth is the police force is not succeeding at the moment,” he admitted, saying law enforcement had become part of the problem.
Part of the solution to the problem is rehabilitating the inner city communities, Chuck felt. However, while it is seen as crucial for law abiding citizens to take control of the communities, he said it creates a dilemma over whether guns should be made more accessible to the citizenry since criminals are heavily armed. “There are people in Jamaica who say ‘No, we must take [guns] away from the criminal gangs’ but the debate continues because the criminal gangs are not giving up their guns, the police can’t get them and so most of these communities because criminal gangs control the guns they control the communities,” he declared.
Stability
Meanwhile, Rohee said the challenges to security in the region are complex but agreed that the drug trade is the greatest threat to public safety in the region, explaining that it poses a serious threat to stability. He also cited violent crime, gangs and gang violence, terrorism, the involvement of youth and crime, inadequate law enforcement capacity, the perception of a slow judicial process as well as unemployment and underemployment among the other major challenges.
In this context, he emphasised the need for strong and effective law enforcement arrangements. Among other things, he noted that the budgetary allocations for the security sector have been steadily increased in order to ensure it is equipped to deal with the problem. Rohee also noted the involvement of community policing groups to support law enforcement agencies. Additionally, he stressed the need for robust judicial action, to ensure that justice is done and that the prison system is not clogged.
He said social intervention is another critical issue, having regard to the unemployment of young persons. In this vein, he said the government has implemented some projects to deal with the situation, noting the Labour Ministry’s National Youth and Empowerment Training Programme, the Guyana Defence Force’s Technical Vocational Educational Programme targeting young people in depressed communities, and the Ministry of Youth’s Training Programme that provides skills training.
Rohee noted that at the regional level, Caricom also has steps to deal with the major challenges, recalling that in 2001 the Heads of Government had decided that states ought to set up National Law and Order Commissions to involve civil society in finding the solution. He said a Commission has been active in Guyana since 2005 and has been providing yeoman service. More recently, he said, a regional programme and action plan was agreed to by regional security ministers at the Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drugs, Trafficking, Transnational Organised Crime and Terrorism and Challenges for Security Development in the Caribbean, and he was confident that with its implementation it would see a structured approach to the problem. He also said that in Guyana, the criminal law architecture has been put in place to support the law enforcement agencies and make them more responsive to the needs and dynamics of the society.
Although Rohee was accused of giving a “diplomatic” presentation in contrast to Chuck’s “frank” talk, the Minister explained that he needed to be careful as the home minister in the host nation. Bristling at the suggestion that his presentation was sanitised, he said he merely sought to be balanced before comparing crime statistics of Jamaica and Guyana. “It is more important to talk of the efforts society is taking to deal with the problems,” he said.
STABROEK NEWS, THE JOKEY COMMENTS THAT YOU GUYS DOES STOOP LOW TO EDIT AND DELETE IS NOT SURPRISING, HOWEVER IT’S VERY ANNOYING AND DISRESPECTFUL WHEN INTELLIGENT READERS ARE ALWAYS COMPLAINING THAT YOU GUYS ARE DELETING THEIR COMMENTS AND THEY ARE OBLIVIOUS AS TO WHY THIS IS HAPPENING.
I DO HOPE THAT YOU HAVE REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE NOW BLOGGING ON A DAILY BASIS WHICH IS DUE TO YOUR SLICING AND DICING”…..SINCE I HAVE RETURNED I HAVE NOTICED A DRAMATIC DECREASE IN THE BLOGGING SECTION, HAVE YOU NOTICED IT TOO????
The drug trade will forever flourish in Guyana unless someone or a government put down its foot and say enough is enough…other than that Guyana is one of the easiest places for the drug trade to pass the authorities undetected….when last any of you have been to the Essequibo islands???
I support all that you have said. The truth shall set them free. Do not edit the truth.
It was flour (food)under the PNC and now cocaine (drugs) under the PPP….Crabwood Creek and the Corentyne then and the Essequibo Coast and Islands now.
Sandman, why complain about letters being sanatized and in some cases not being posted by SN? Yesterday you bluntly told me that you live in Guyana, and therefore you are more conversant with the Guyanese way of doing things, than someone who is currently residing overseas. The problem with decreased blogging is as a result of SN new criteria for replying to blogs and posting blogs. In my case the Password they provided me is not currently working and never worked. Then, on the other hand their(SN) persistent non-sensical editing that changes the content,concept and context of blogs discourages many bloggers. Guns!! yes, guns in the commission of crimes in Guyana. When will the police/immigration department in Lethem confiscate and work efficiently to stop gun running from our neighbor? ISNM
Sandhurst , I agree with you 100% pertaining to your views on illegal drugs in Guyana .
The albatross of pia matter bankruptcy and the usa visa revocation is a testament to his and the ppp government’s incompetence.
Yes, the drug trade is the number one trade, and threat, but it could be neutralized with legalization, taxation, this will take the profit out of it and lessen criminal activities, it’s time to think outside of the box, or the region will only be playing with itself, in some countries the penalty when caught with drugs is death, but does this stop the drug trade from flowing? The war on drugs is a farce and only war that was, was on the people the u.s drug szar said that, and a different needed to be taken, so until world leaders come up with a different approach drugs will be here to stay, and gangs and violence will go hand in hand, and no matter how much education one may have, if the opportunities are not available for the youths after they graduate from college or high school the drug trade will always be a lucrative way of getting rich for them.
None of these solutions will ever work. Drug gangs will rule the day. The major export of these gangs is cocaine to the US, the major export of the US is guns to the drug gangs. How come there is no war on guns in the US? They are instead trying to pass laws to confiscate firearms from the average America citizen.
Ever noticed that every American soldier coming home from constant wars in other countries, comes home a hero. Ever noticed that none of the fighters defending against this invasion of their home lands are ever deemed heroes. No siree, they are insurrectionists,terrorists,commie bastards, everything else but a war hero. No wonder we all believe that there are terrorists around every corner in every country but America.
How is the invasion of Arab countries that possess oil by American forces different in its method of violence, than drug gang communities?
The problem in the Caribbean is not drug gangs, they are simply violent urban foragers. The problem in the Caribbean is money. We do not have any money.
America is a bankrupt country that found billions of dollars to bailout a bankrupt banking industry. Where did they get the money from? They printed it.
Since they will not allow the Caribbean to print their own money, then we need an immediate influx of loans from the IFI’s for the next ten years with no requirement to payback any of it whatsoever. We need an easement from this yolk of debt that is wrapped around our necks, so that we can provide opportunity and employment for our young people.
Until they get that message then the drug trade will be the businness of necessity, survival and choice. What’s so hard to understand about that.
Joe.
when will the war on illegal guns started.
i think when the govt. sue these gun manufacturing companies for the medical cost, pain and suffering caused by these weapons, illegally smuggled into these countries.
its a two way street.
i like your point of view, we on the same page.
Wow nice and str8 forward. Not that’s speaking the truth and keeping it real.
well said
Well said Joe!This is the best comment i have read so far on this forum since i started blogging,it’s so frank and truthful that i am obliged to respect your intelligence.Keep the good works up man.
Well well which government will do the suing Guyana hells NO. They cant even keep the simplest thing in the country going much more to sue gun company and manufactories, wake up free speech, who would listem to them.
Joe ! The true definition of a hero is one who would sacrifice his or her life for another. Soldiers volunteer to fight for their country. That is the reason why they are called heroes. Your other points are silly.
Joe, Rohee haw hee haw will put a few CPG’s on the matter. Neighborhood watch here we come.
Joe, don’t be perennially pessimistic about solutions offered to the issue of fighting crime brought about by the prevalence of drugs and guns in Guyana. As it is, we don’t know what will or will not work. How come there is no war on guns in the US? (sic) Then you go on to state: They are instead trying to pass laws to confiscate firearms from the average America citizen (sic). Is this not a “war” on the citizens who hold illegal fire arms? You pose several questions that have International political implications, which you reduce to the community level. The implications and remidies are very different in each situation. ISNM
I am not being a pessimist here Ulric, I am being a realist.I am not saying don’t do anything, but the most you can hope for is to keep it from getting out of control.
Ever seen a drug gang proliferate on Wall Street, or a shopping mall or a rich neighbourhood? It always take root in poor down trodden cesspools of human hopeless. It is not unlike an epedemic mosquito problem. Kill the mosquitos and you destroy the surrounding environment. Change the swamp to a rich stream of fresh running water and the problem will disappear, and that is where money comes in to play.
In Afganistan a land with a large US military presence, where you can be shot as a “terrorist” if found in a poppy field, guess what, contrary to what the media is saying, the business is booming. How much more of an armed police or military presence than that, can the Caribbean afford?
I was not talking about illegal arms seizures. They are looking to repeal or circumvent -What is it? the first or second amendment of the US constitution ?- Which is the right of every US citizen to bear arms while at the same time imposing the Patroit Act. America is becoming a police state.
Lately, there have been a few bloggers who are attempting to present counter arguments by nitpicking on the content of my information, spelling and grammer. The reason why I blog and do not present articles to SN is because I am writing on the fly. I am pulling information straight out of sometimes foggy brain cells. I do not have the time to pass the content thru my word spell checker or reseach for 100% accuracy.
Sometimes I do get carried away and present things that are off the wall, but which blogger is innocent of such a “crime”
I get zapped by the SN moderator on a regular basis too but instead of complaining I am thankful for the latitude they allow me in attempting to broadcast as much information to my countrymen, sometimes not even related to the content of the article.
I have fun blogging, I do not take myself seriously, I have no beef with any of the political systems around the world, I simply point out things that I feel they are doing wrong or could do better.
Again it is my opinion, but tell me of any blogger you know that is blogging based on someone else’s opinion.
Joe.
Its about time that they address this problem openly. The Drug Trade and Armed Gangs have changed our beloved Guyana for the worst over the past decade. Despite the Money Laundering Act, the government of Guyana fails to realize that Drug Dealers have new ways to stash and invest fund from their illegal trade. Real Estate has become one of the avenue for drugs money to get laundered. The government of Guyana need to keep a close tab on those buying or building Mulit-Million dollar assets; also those selling it.
More than 75% of the crimes committed in the Caribbean are related to illegal drugs . Drug lords and gang leaders have been allowed to control many districts throughout the Caribbean . the governments are not declaring war on these miscreants because , in many cases , the political parties do not want to lose support at election time . The Joint-forces in various countries must sanitise the comfort zones of the criminals by way of ‘locking down’ the areas for long periods and searching the homes of suspects . Corruption in high places must be dealt with because many of the known criminals are associated with corrupt public officials and ‘big business men’ in the private sector . The financing of political parties must also be of great concern to the governments because one good term deserves another . I , therefore , would like to opine that the governments should finance the political parties and make the taking of private contributions illegal – transparency and accountability must be paramount .
keep on walking nothing to see here.
when the govt facilatated or turned a blind eye to the drug trade for this many decades, the trend cannot be changed, all we can do is sit back in our bulletproof vests behind grill work and enjoy the spoils the drug man dem spending in the country….need yuh fancy car wash dere bossman, no, how ’bout ah shine yuh gole teeth?
the ‘drug trade’ is not a “threat” per se ,, rather it’s the greed by those scums in the trade ,, and those who consume the drugs !…. that is “the” threat !….. hoiw is it “now” being determined a threat ,, when so many BILLIONS is generated ,, and so many lives have been lost !
The first step is admitting that there is a problem and Rohee did that. However, the government can do more – not to eradicate (that is not possible)- but to diminish the drug trade. Harsh penalities should be meted out to offenders. Pay employees more so that the corrupt practices will not be tolerated and more efficient systems need to be put in place.
Same way we slammed and laugh at inept Government and security officials in Guyana for letting drugs pass through their ports we must slam and laugh at inept Government and security corrupt officials that are allowing the same drugs into their ports in Canada US and Britain where the apetite is the largest for this thing..Trini police and Jammy Police ent able wid these guys and yall does deh at de throat at Guyana Govt fuh dis…Does Mexico rig a bell in ah yo ears?…
Every bady in de world know de Americanos trade guns fuh drugs ehehehe suh notin new deh….drugs does kill if overdoze but man ah tell yall dem big guns ent gat respect fuh anyone….therefore the ones that supplyin de guns mean to kill to get their drugs…dats de bottom line….suh yall dont ever tink guh one minute dis drug ting gon done in de near future…
Let me repeat fuh yall…..
DE ONES WHOM SUPPLYING DE GUNS INTEND ON KILLING TO GET THEIR DRUGS………
Food for thought,let’s legalise the marijuana(love potion)and there would be less of a demand for the white stuff.The gov will get the tax money and I would be left feeling irie.