Address escalating crime situation – Jagdeo says to President Granger

Georgetown: Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo has agreed with President David Granger that crime is the greatest impediment of prosperity and he is calling on President David and the government to address the crime situation.

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo

At a weekly press conference Thursday at his office, Jagdeo said the President has an inept Public Security Minister who is more interested in playing politics and “imbibing alcohol around the country than addressing crime.”

Noting that the President has to ultimately take responsibility, Jagdeo said the Guyana Police Force is demoralized, “remember they took away the one month tax free bonus from the police, they said it was a bribe the PPP was paying to the police, army, firemen and prison officers, secondly the active involvement of political persons in the active involvement in the police force is unbelievable.”

He said that police are busy providing security details to Ministers and government officials instead of focusing on crime.         

Further, Jagdeo said the President had collected a report by British Senior Security Sector Reform Advisor, Russell Combe and “he said with this report we will end crime in Guyana and in the chronicle headline of January 18, 2018 it said that PPP was all bluff about fighting crime, and he is serious and now equipped with the report.”

Jagdeo said President Granger also stated that narco-trafficking was the source of crime and it was a disease and the symptom must be addressed.

“Well he (the President) has claimed that narco-trafficking has been eliminated by his government, but how is it that we have seen this massive escalation in crime,” Jagdeo said.

He said with incoming oil and gas resources it is important to address all aspects of crime.