Among the top priorities of the government is the attraction of investment into the economy. But equally challenging for the government has been the task of retaining existing investment in a competitive, hostile and generally anti-investment climate occasioned by the failure of the main opposition to accept constitutional rule.
The PNC still lives in the past and has failed to demonstrate that it is capable of operating in anything other than an authoritarian climate. Ever since 1997, the PNC has driven investors out of this country by inciting instability through its actions and threats. Yet, today its still has the audacity to accuse the government of not attracting investors to the country.
Which investor is going to come to Guyana to put his or her money when a small group of about eight women can walk down Regent Street and shut down stores? The business community needs to demand some explanations from the government as to why no action was taken by the police against those openly intimidating storeowners. The government needs to demand of the Commissioner of Police than he explains why no charges have been laid against those involved in the intimidation of business owners during the protest demonstration on the day George Bacchus was killed.
Public officials must be held accountable for their actions and this excludes none. The Commissioner of Police owes this country an explanation as to why no charges have been laid against those who besieged the main shopping area in the city, driving anxieties among investors and potential investors. We may not always agree with public explanations but answers from public officials, however unsatisfactory, provide the bedrock of public accountability. There may be just reasons why no charges were laid. And we need to hear of these.
Which investor will be willing to stake his money into a country like this when experience has been that the police were unable to deal adequately with political protests and also with the crime situation in Buxton? Which investor is going to invest his funds in Guyana when he sees the difficulties that the police face every election period in dealing with small political protests?
There have been no significant large foreign investments into Guyana since the PPP came into office. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, considering the structure and constraints to investment in Guyana. So what are these constraints?
The one that I wish to deal with today is the failure of the police to deal with PNCR lawlessness. The police must deal with breaches by the rule of law by whomever and if the leadership of the force fails, then it should be forced to walk. The citizens of this country must take an uncompromising position when it comes to holding public officials accountable. One of the problems we have in this country is that when things go wrong, public officials do not like to take responsibility. I am asking now for what are the yardsticks in place to measure the performance of senior officials of Guyana’s law enforcement agencies. We should not tolerate any slackness and the public should be prepared to call on public officials to step aside if they cannot measure up.
One of the things that investors look for in making investment decisions is how their assets will be protected. The same goes for the ordinary private citizen who wants the consolation of knowing that whatever he or she has worked for will be protected.
The tragic experience of 1997-1998 when supporters of the PNC destroyed billions of dollars in property and goodwill is a reminder that investments are not safe in Guyana. The experience of the crime wave sent a signal to investors that the Guyana Police Force is sorely tested in the country and cannot be relied upon to defend private property.
And the recent incident when a small band on women intimidated business houses on Regent Street will do nothing to assure local and foreign investors that things have changed
If the acting Minister of Home Affairs is serious about her role, the first thing that she needs to do is to ask the Police Service Commission to set up performance measuring standards by which senior officers of the Guyana Police Force will be judged. If there are incidents such as the shutting down of Regent Street where police action has been far from what was expected, she should institute ministerial investigations and let the chips fall where they have to fall.
It seems that not even the media is paying much attention to the report of the Disciplined Services Commission because so far, we have had very limited coverage of the contents of the report which incidentally has been laid before and debated in parliament.
We need to hear and learn about what that report says about the Guyana Police Force. The people’s representatives have already approved of the document, yet the vast majority of the people hardly know what is contained in that report.
The protection of investments is crucial to investment choices. Traditionally, our police have been schooled in protecting individual private property. This has always been a challenge, not only in Guyana but elsewhere. One can therefore appreciate how more difficult it will be for the Guyana Police Force to deal effectively with the protection of the economic assets spread across 83,000 square miles.
Any country that cannot ensure adequate security for economic assets will be unable to attract new and substantial investments into the economy. And this is precisely why we need a strategy to ensure the security of investments in Guyana.