Minister Clement Rohee has dismissed criticisms of his ministry’s plans to spend $37M on water cannon to disperse demonstrators, saying it is better to use the water cannon than rubber bullets.
In a letter published in last Friday’s edition of this newspaper Shirley Shaffek and Susan Collymore of Grassroots Women across Race expressed shock about the announcement in the recent budget to purchase water cannon.
“It is shocking to know that the fire service does not have equipment to fight fires in Guyana, but the government can purchase water cannon that cost $37 million in taxpayer dollars to disperse demonstrators,” the women said in the letter.
However, Minister Rohee said the fire service does not “have a problem with equipment” and when it was pointed out that there have been many complaints from members of the public, especially about the service’s hoses which are peppered with holes, the Minister said that the “hoses have completely been recycled and repaired.” He did concede later that “from time to time there are holes in the hoses.”
Questioned about the fact that engines from the Guyana Fire Service repeatedly turned up to fires with empty tanks and whether the $37M could not be channelled into providing water for the service and repairing the fire hydrants – the latter being a long-standing issue – the Minister had this to say:
“The Guyana Fire Service depends on those water providers for water. All they own are the instruments that convey the water to the fore. As far as I am aware the Guyana Fire Service was never the agency to get water into the hydrants…” the Minister said.
But are water cannon really important? This newspaper asked.
“It is very important, I think it is very important; it is better to use water cannons than to use rubber bullets,” the Minister responded.
The women in their letter said that there had been several elections and a drastic step such as using water cannon had never been taken.
“This is violence against the people of Guyana. Grassroots Women across Race is totally against violence in any form,” they wrote. They questioned where the water would come from to fill the tanks of the cannon.
Guyana is currently experiencing the El Nino weather phenomenon.
