PNCR repeats call to Donald Ramotar to revoke Clement Rohee’s appointment

The People’s National Congress Reform has repeated its call to President Donald Ramotar to revoke Clement Rohee’s appointment as Minister of Home Affairs.
The original call was made as a result of the majority decision of the National Assembly which approved a motion of ‘no-confidence’ in Clement Rohee on Monday July 30.
The motion first arose out of the killing of three unarmed persons – Shemroy Bouyea of Wismar Housing Scheme, Ivan Lewis of Wismar Housing Scheme and Ron Somerset of Amelia’s Ward – by the police at Linden during a peaceful protest on Wednesday 18th July, 2012.
To make matters worse, the police killed teenager Shaquille Grant in Agricola Village on Tuesday 11th September, last. This most recent killing provided further evidence that Rohee has been doing little to protect the lives of our young citizens or to control the conduct of rogue policemen.
Rohee has been accused– in the debate on the motion of ‘no-confidence’ in the National Assembly last July – of numerous failures during his troubled six-year tenure as Minister in that portfolio from September 2006 to September 2012.  The Opposition pointed out that it seems that as long as Rohee remains Minister, public security will never improve.
The PNCR disclosed, for example, that armed robberies have increased to an average of nearly one every eight hours in Guyana. Official reports, earlier this week, stated that the incidence of robbery under arms increased by 23 per cent from 544 in the period January to August 2011, to 670 reports from January to August 2012. There was an increase of 17 per cent in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms. Rohee, however, seems unable to bring these crimes under control.
Piracy, also, is continuing unabated on Rohee’s watch. Pirates attacked in broad daylight about 12:00 h on Saturday 8th September, and beat several fishermen who were operating in the Pomeroon River.
Several boats were attacked off the Waini Coast later the same evening. The police eventually arrested some suspects but, all along the coastland, fishermen continue to complain of scant protection from the Ministry of Home Affairs and its law-enforcement agencies.
Narco-trafficking is still rampant. Two persons were caught attempting to smuggle 2 kg of cocaine through the international airport last week. Other recent incidents involve attempts to smuggle 45 kg of cocaine into Jamaica in July and 170 kg of cocaine into Canada in June this year. Despite the prevalence of this crime, Rohee has failed since 2010 to introduce a current, comprehensive counter-narcotics strategy to prevent the illegal drug from entering the country.
Opposition Leader Brigadier David Granger reminded the National Assembly last July that in accordance with the doctrine of ministerial responsibility, every minister should be held accountable and be made to accept responsibility for the performance and behaviour of his or her ministry.
The minister must resign if his conduct undermines public confidence in his ability to hold high office with competence.
It is clear that public confidence in Rohee has evaporated. The country experienced – apart from extra-judicial killings, piracy and banditry – several atrocious massacres at Bartica, Lindo Creek and Lusignan for which the Minister has failed to convene even a single independent commission of inquiry or to publish credible investigative reports.
Despite these failures, the Police Force under Rohee continues to be involved in callous and serious shooting incidents against unarmed persons in Georgetown in December 2011, Linden in July 2012 and, now, Agricola in September.
These are the reasons why the National Assembly expressed its complete lack of confidence in the ability of the Minister of Home Affairs to discharge his responsibility for public security.
These are the reasons why the Leader of the Opposition has repeated his call to President Donald Ramotar to immediately revoke Rohee’s appointment as a minister of the government.