Georgetown Chamber of Commerce objects to police force solely investigating itself for corruption

Last Updated on Monday, 22 July 2024, 18:52 by Writer

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Monday registered its concern that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) was investigating alleged corruption in that law enforcement agency, and recommended that other agencies be involved in an independent probe.

GCCI President, Kester Hutson told Demerara Waves Online News that in addition to the Police Service Commission, government and civil society “should establish a special committee to probe” allegations of a “high level of corruption and financial impropriety” in the police force. He said the Police Force’s Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Financial Intelligence Unit and other agencies should be part of the probe.

In a statement, that business support organisation raised concerns about a SOCU-conducted probe. “An independent probe is needed in the interest of objectivity and transparency, as the Special Organised Crime Unit, which has been tasked with investigating these issues, is an arm of the GPF. ”

Asked whether he believed that investigators from other Caribbean police forces would be helpful in an independent investigation, he said, “The GPF needs all the help they can get. They should seek, in this instance, external help.”

The Alliance For Change (AFC) had recommended that the Guyana government enlists the services of investigators from other police forces in the Caribbean because the GPF could not be expected to conduct a fair probe into itself. Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had said that SOCU rather than the GPF’s Office of Professional Responsibility was the proper agency empowered under the law to investigate alleged financial crimes.

“These circumstances are abhorrent and untenable; therefore, the Chamber calls for it to be dealt with swiftly, and for those found culpable to face the brunt of the law,” the Chamber added in its statement.

Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn last week told a police officers symposium that the “biggest immediate ongoing problem” was alleged corruption in procurement which was now the subject of investigation.

The GCCI said that as the body responsible for upholding and enforcing the laws of Guyana, it is repugnant that the very individuals
who have been empowered to maintain law and order in the country, were allegedly engaging in malpractices, which raises questions of the GPF’s credibility and objectivity. “If the agents of the state who are responsible for maintaining stability and lawfulness are engaged in malfeasance, then they can no longer be trusted to uphold the standards that they ought to be enforcing,” the Chamber added.

The GCCI said the police force must not operate with impunity, but instead its members must be held at a higher degree of accountability. Failure to act, the Chamber warned, could be viewed as assenting to corruption, and this can lead to a descent into lawlessness.