The news report was stark: “London police chief Cressida Dick resigned yesterday, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said, after he told her he was not satisfied she could root out the racism, sexism and other problems that still existed within the force.” Now that’s the way the business of security of our people ought to be run. From the very beginning of the formation of the State, the most fundamental justification to put all that power in the hands of the few to run that state was they’d have to ensure our security.
It’s plain and simple as that. And if they can’t provide security, they might as well pack their bags and leave their air-conditioned offices and stop drawing their hefty salaries. So, how come it’s been so hard to get this lesson into the heads of those in power right here in Guyana. Weren’t we ruled by Britain?? Didn’t we form our police force not too long after the London “Bobbies”? Meaning that we had a heck of a long time to get our act together?!!
Our problem, and we’ve gotta be honest and call a spade a spade – and not an axe. From the British days, our Police were never recruited fairly but to divide-and-rule us natives.
Right after slavery, in 1839, the majority of the recruits were Bajans – who were flocking our shores because of the horrible sugar wages there. They were trusted to keep the newly-freed enslaved Africans in line. Never mind they prevented the latter from getting alternate employment from the fields. When they eventually showed they weren’t threats, THEY were recruited so as to keep their eyes on the Indian Indentureds!!
So when Burnham made his play – in cahoots with the CIA in the 60s –- to oust the PPP via race riots, the African-dominated Police Force supported his PNC – even when the British were around! After he got into power, Burnham built up the Police Force – and the Army and National Service – with more African- Guyanese to keep the Indian-Guyanese supporters of the PPP in line. And this is the fundamental problem with the Police Force that everyone pussyfoots around!!
There’ve been scads of reports by foreign and domestic experts and most recently, by ex-Asst. Commissioner Conway – with some real good suggestions to fix the Force, since we all know that it just ain’t working. But nothing on the fundamental contradiction!! Like in London, somebody’s gotta bite the bullet and make changes from the top. Granger did this when he came into office.
But he didn’t want to professionalise the Force – just make it his lapdog.
Let’s, at long last, do the right thing for Guyana!
…sugar
The Govt’s gonna also have to bite the bullet in sugar. It’s done its best to fix the destruction wrought by Granger after he unilaterally and arbitrarily shut down four of the seven “grinding estates”. His plan was supposedly to fix the remaining three and privatise them. OK. Well, they borrowed $30 BILLION for this purpose, but it was just revealed they only handed over $3.8B to the PPP Government. Where’s the promised co-Gen plants or plantation-white sugar plant or the refurbished factories??
Where’d all that money go? We just can’t accept this BS! There’s gotta be an Inquiry and somebody gotta go to jail!! This is highway robbery!! We’d been promised that two of the shuttered factories would’ve been reopened this year. Now we’re hearing that while 200 persons have been hired at Rose Hall Canje, there’s no firm reopening date.
We know there were floods. But the bald promise to turn around things in four years won’t cut it! The signs aren’t comforting! Sh*t or get off the pot!!
…with the Ruskies
Now we know why French Pres Macron was sitting 20 feet from Putin at their “meeting” – he refused Russian COVID-19 testing. Feared they might steal his DNA.
The Russians wanted to clone him?
