By Leon SuseranMinister Rohee receives an award plaque from the Berbice CPGThe ‘B’ Division Community Policing Group over the weekend honoured Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, for his six years in that office. The anniversary celebration was held on the lawns of State House in New Amsterdam. Rohee received applauses and chants of approval for him to stay on as Minister in that capacity.Region Six Chairman David Armogan told the gathering of law enforcement officials, “that the amount of support that this Minister is getting from the majority of people in Guyana,Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys, there is no way that those elements bent on removing him will succeed”.He was referring to the no-confidence motion passed in the National Assembly against Minister Rohee, and the calls by the Parliamentary Opposition for him to be removed as Home Affairs Minister.“The majority of right- thinking Guyanese and decent Guyanese want to see this Minister continue in office and perform in the same way that he has been performing over the last six years”, Armogan stated.The job of Rohee, he said, is not an easy one “because crime all over the world has been on the increase and Guyana cannot divorce itself from the rest of the world. But because of the number of things that he [Rohee] has put in place, our country can be still considered to be a safe place”.“I believe they are picking on the wrong Minister—on a Minister who is a political thoroughbred—he is no ‘kangalang’…He has been in the fight …and has fought in the trenches and has been on almost all political battles in Guyana…post- Independence Guyana”. Armogan said it would not be easy for Rohee to give in…”thoroughbreds run and die—they do not give up!”Rohee was lauded for “bridging the gap between the people and police force…and being able to interface more with the [public and people are getting the confidence more and more over the last couple of years”.Minister Rohee has been in the centre of numerous calls from the Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) to resign from office as his performance during the Linden protests came under heavy scrutiny.Also speaking was Deputy Commander of Berbice, Clifton Hicken. “Minister has done well over the years…has helped the force to meet professional standards; has introduced community policing which is now growing from strength to strength in excess of 950”. Hicken said that this is unique to the decentralized system of management in the Guyana Police Force which “gives us hands-on approach to develop efficiencies through our community policing group”.Commander Hicken stated, too, that the fight against crime is not only for the police and CPG but for all concerned citizens. Hicken praised Rohee “for guiding us through good and bad times…and the door is always open for members of the public to come on board, guide the CPG so we all could fight this crime in our peaceful country”.Member of Parliament, Faizal M. Jaffarally, credited Rohee with numerous initiatives accomplished under his tenure. These included a number of vehicles for the force and training programmes.“As an MP of Region Six, the greatest achievement for Rohee as Minister was under the Citizens’ Security Programme” (CSP)…where hundreds, perhaps thousands of young men and women were given a second chance in life, in communities such as Edinburgh, Angoy’s Avenue, Fyrish, Chesney, Tain/Port Mourant—thousands of young people who thought that their lives had no future were given an opportunity to become creative, to become entrepreneurs, to become tradesmen and women”.Jaffarally applauded Rohee “because he took a personal initiative in ensuring that this programme was successful”. He stated that President Ramotar has full confidence in Rohee “and he will remain the Minister as long as the people of Guyana want him to be”.Rohee was presented a plaque by the CPG in Berbice at the end of the programme. The GPF band played several renditions and prisoners from the N/A Prisons performed beautiful poems and dramatic plays.
