The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was unable to fund the construction of a command centre for the Safe City initiative, the bank’s Country Representative Sophie Makonnen said yesterday, while clarifying recent statements by Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan who indicated that funding was pulled over concerns about Chinese firm Huawei.
“The Command Centre, which is part of the Safe City Initiative, is not included in the original design of the CSSP [Citizen Security Strengthening Programme]. However, the Bank received a request to fund the construction of the Command Centre under the existing Programme but following an assessment and given the sizable requirements of the Command Centre as well as the financial resources needed to make it fully functional, it was realised that the existing funds remaining in the budget of the Programme would not be sufficient to fully fund an operational Command Centre,” Makonnen said in a statement to Stabroek News.
Ramjattan, during an interview on April 8th on the 94.1 FM Jumpstart Show, had said that the bank was expected to provide full funding, but that changed after the contract for the equipment was won by Huawei, a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer. His comments were reported on by online media outfit News Source.
When contacted last Wednesday, Ramjattan told Stabroek News that he would be issuing a press release on the matter. Up to press time last evening, none was disseminated. Efforts by this newspaper yesterday to contact Ramjattan, who is abroad on official duties, were futile.
Makonnen, in her statement, said that the funding remaining in the CSSP would only allow for a small part of the entire initiative to be done and the impact would not be measurable as required by the bank’s policies. Additionally, she said, the results and impact of the Command Centre would be realised beyond the disbursement and evaluation periods of the programme.
“We suggested to the Government of Guyana that the remaining funds be diverted to the construction of new police stations and the furnishing of both new and rehabilitated police stations,” she said, before adding that such type of activities are already part of the CSSP. These suggested activities, she said, would be in addition to the planned rehabilitation and remodeling of police stations currently being undertaken with the Bank’s financing of the programme.
She assured the bank’s commitment towards the country’s security initiatives.
“The Bank is fully committed to supporting the Cooperative Republic of Guyana towards reducing crime and violence within Guyana’s communities. The Bank also appreciates the positive steps being taken to implement the Safe City initiative, which is of national importance,” she added.
According to the News Source report, Ramjattan revealed that he might have to take a supplementary budget to the National Assembly to seek additional money for the Safe City pilot project that will see more CCTV cameras being installed around Georgetown.
While equipment for the project is already in Guyana, the report said the additional funding to be sought will go towards the construction of the command centre.
“There were some problems because the firm that won the contract was Huawei and, of course, the IDB had to lend the monies, and of course, you know, the problem with Huawei and the Americans and all of that. And that’s the difficulty we are having presently. The equipment are in the country but we have to have a command centre built. That will take some time now, because the funding from the IDB is not forthcoming in relation to that and for good reasons, I understand,” Ramjattan was quoted as saying.
He indicated an interest in working with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications to get the project going.
Ramjattan had told the National Assembly that the government had formulated an “emergency Smart Street Safe City proposal” that will see the installation of over 100 CCTV cameras in and around the city, where over 50% of crimes are committed. That proposal included the construction of a command centre, where the footage would be monitored throughout each day.
Ramjattan had earlier indicated to this newspaper that the CCTV cameras proposal had to first get the backing of the IDB to ensure that funding could be made available for the purchasing of the cameras and the construction of the command centre.
“We had to get the IDB to do a no-objection to the people who are going to manage that Citizens Security Plan and the names have gone up to them for the no-objection. It will take some time, so we now have to get the disbursements from the IDB,” he had told Stabroek News.
