The trek to the roof
DIRECTOR of Prisons, Mr Dale Erskine is correct in that prisoners everywhere seeking publicity try to jump on roofs or other vantage points to make their point. But there are few prisons like the Georgetown complex - right smack in the middle of the capital city where anyone getting to the roof gets an eager audience without having to even shout. Prisons housing dangerous men are meant to be away from populated areas and not within spitting distance of pubs, restaurants, main streets and pavements. The man making his case from the roof of the Georgetown Prison yesterday could have easily been on top of a house just across the street - it all seemed so ridiculously easy and silly. He was soon on television and he had apparently dressed for the occasion. He was not in prison garb and clearly knew he would have been at the centre of much attention, especially from the media. And he walked with his dark shades and bottled water as if he was out for an afternoon stroll on the seawall. The point is that it is being made clearer that the Georgetown Prison complex is no longer suited for all the onerous duties entrusted its keepers and the string of inmates that have found themselves on the roof in recent years shows the strain. A Trinidad and Tobago firm of consultants has noted that despite the best efforts, it is no secret that the present Georgetown prison facility is completely inadequate and unable to deal with the burgeoning prison population that currently exists in Guyana. Privatising the system In a report to Home Affairs Minister, Mr Ronald Gajraj, the firm, Fraser and Thomas Consultants stated that the overcrowding reality, insufficient rehabilitative capability and downright despair among prison inmates, have given rise to a spate of attempted prison breaks, instances of riots and protests over the deplorable conditions and a number of transgressions between prisoners. It is a tribute to the administration of the prison system that Guyana has not seen the kind of jail protests that have rocked prisons in other countries in the region but other options have to be considered. The Trinidad and Tobago firm has shown interest here after a recent suggestion by the Home Affairs Minister, following a spate of jail breaks, that the prison system should be privatised. The company has presented a proposal to Mr Gajraj to build a 2,000-inmate private prison at a cost of US$20M. Displays by prisoners like that yesterday drive home the point that high profile jails have to be out of densely populated areas or be more secluded from public view and the search for solutions has to be speeded up. Other countries have privatised their prisons and Minister Gajraj's proposal is an indication that the administration is thinking along these lines. Others in the business should be invited to put up proposals for a better prison system and this should be done with a greater degree of urgency than has so far been evident. The continuing trek to the roof of the Georgetown Prison is not cause for comfort. 
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