The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday donated a number of vehicles and motorcycles valued at $11.8 million to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) to ensure that it is well equipped to carry out its mandate, said a press release from GINA.
The donation comprised all-terrain vehicles, three motorcycles, a 4×4, one truck, and a mini bus. Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, yesterday presented the vehicles’ keys to Director of the Guyana Prison Service, Dale Erskine, at the Ministry of Home Affairs on Brickdam.
According to the GINA report, the vehicles were funded through the 2012 National Budget.
Rohee said that the handing over of the vehicles was in keeping with the Ministry’s thrust “to provide the necessary tools to the service to ensure that it is in a position to carry out its responsibilities in an effective manner.”
“The Prison services like other disciplined services require means of transportation to be able to execute their various responsibilities of duties, and I believe this contribution to the Prison Service by the Government will go a far way in assisting the Prison Service,” GINA quoted him as saying.
According to GINA, Rohee explained that the Government’s move to transform the GPS to the Guyana Prison and Correctional Service will have to take into account the various assets that are assigned to the Prison Service, “and the new needs in tooling it and ensuring that it has the appropriate facilities to assist the transformation.”
He noted that there are three Bills in Parliament that cater for the change in names of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), GPS and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), in keeping with the reforms of the security sector for which the Government has been pushing. However, he said that he is unsure of the Opposition’s position on the reform, but noted that Government has to push on with its responsibilities to ensure that the legal steps are taken to facilitate the name change in these organisations.
Rohee said that the Ministry looks forward to the servicing and maintenance of the vehicles, and urged that they be used for the purpose provided.
The release said that Erskine thanked the Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs for providing the vehicles. “It will help us administratively, operationally and agriculturally. This vehicle no doubt comes to move the prison service, to move the vehicles’ capability to operate in a very efficient manner,” Erskine said. “We want to assure the Ministry, the Government and the people of Guyana, we will take care of these vehicles and ensure that they are used for the purposes in which they are purchased,” he said.
The release noted that recently the Guyana Police Force received 19 vehicles valued $61M to boost its operational efficiency.
