FEATURE ADDRESS OF HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BHARRAT JAGDEO ’S AT THE LAUNCHING OF THE NATIONAL DRUG STRATEGY MASTER PLAN, 2005 - 2009

We are gathered here this morning to launch the Guyana National Drug Strategy Master Plan for the period 2005 - 2009.

Since the actual Drug Strategy Master Plan would be circulated, I would confine myself to identifying the main components of that Master Plan and use the opportunity to speak briefly about our approach to the fight against Crime and Violence in our society.

Our approach is guided by our assessment of the crime statistics in Guyana and in the region, and the changing nature of crime, particularly its violent and trans-national features. We are also guided by our review of what other countries have done and are doing to fight crime. Above all, we are guided by our economic, social and political realities.

In my presentation, I would address just some of the additional planned initiatives the PPP/C Administration intends to implement to further support the law enforcement agencies and to enhance our crime fighting efforts.

Let me now say a few words about the National Drug Strategy and its planned programmes and activities.

This, the second Master Plan, will build on the foundation laid by the first Master Plan which expanded into additional areas of narcotic interdiction, strengthening of inter-agency co-operation and our increased engagement with bilateral, regional and international agencies.

This 2005 - 2009 Plan was drafted in consultation with key persons in my administration, civilian Law Enforcement Agencies, the Military and Non-Governmental Organisations. They have all been involved in crafting the plan and I give them credit for their inputs.

The Plan foresees the establishment of the National Anti-Narcotics Commission (NANCOM) and its associated Secretariat to implement the Strategy. The Commission will be the focal point in this new counter-narcotics strategy which will lead to the overall improvement in the co-ordination by various agencies.

The actual programmed activities that the Commission will implement and oversee over the next five years are divided into Supply and Demand Reduction categories.

The agenda for the Supply Reduction category includes:

• Improvement of the functioning of the Criminal Justice Administrative system through the sustained training of court officials and the provision of better Court facilities. The Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions will be strengthened and Prosecutors’ skills in the area of prosecuting narco-traffickers will be augmented. The current situation is a source of concern with the delays and the less than anticipated rate of convictions due in part to corruption.

• Improvement in the Legal Framework through the enactment of new legislation which is keeping with the regional legal thrust against drug traffickers and the drug trafficking industry.

• Improvement of the Intelligence gathering functions of the Law Enforcement agencies.

• Operationalisation of the Joint Intelligence Coordinating Centre which brings together representatives of the intelligence gathering apparatus of the Joint Services for better intelligence-led counter-narcotic operations.

• The Criminal Investigation Department will be strengthened through the expanded application of Information Communication and Technology. This will create a simple central law enforcement database allowing ready access to information relating to criminal charges, convictions and punishment, immigration records and asset holdings of drug traffickers.

• The counter-narcotic agencies will be strengthened by the provision of additional resources. More equipment for will be procured: secure communication, land and riverain transportation, better border control facilities and the surveillance of our air and sea spaces.

• The National Forensic Laboratory capacities will be strengthened through the acquisition of more up-to-date equipment and technology and the aggressive recruitment of necessary skills.

• International cooperation will be expanded through the ratification of relevant and important international conventions and treaties including:

• the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters
• the Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Trafficking, Manufacturing of Firearms, Ammunition and Explosives.

• Bilateral cooperation will be strengthened between Guyana, and its neighbours and other countries.

Under the Demand Reduction category of the Plan, the following activities would be implemented:

• Developing and implementing safe lifestyle programmes for our youths

• Strengthening the current health and family life education programmes that target vulnerable women, children and adolescents

• Providing continuous statistical surveillance on the prevalence of drug use in selected populations, thereby obtaining information that will be useful in policy formulation

• Encouraging heightened civil society participation in anti-drug abuse activities including advocacy and the provision of services

• Heightening media involvement in promoting awareness of drug abuse

• Providing better clinical and behavioural treatment for drug users and abusers through training of relevant personnel and the establishment of additional rehabilitation centres, either directly or giving support to NGOs. This would improve the availability of rehabilitation and counselling services

Those are some of the main highlights of the Master Plan.

The implementation of our anti-drug strategy with its programmes and activities would need to be resourced by the combined efforts of Central Government, and our bilateral and multilateral partners. At a minimum the incremental financial costs to implement the Master Plan is projected at G$650M GYD.

This is a significant sum of money for Guyana, but appears paltry when compared to the resources provided elsewhere in this hemisphere to fight narco-trafficking. Clearly, international support would be critical for the successful implementation of the Master Plan.

However, at the end of the day the responsibility to implement the strategy is ours. And we shall not shirk from our obligations.

While we move ahead with the implementation of this Drug Master Plan, we cannot ignore the fact that success depends on how we effectively tackle the bigger picture of Crime and Violence in Guyana. That picture is compounded by the even bigger picture of transnational crime and its implications for small developing countries like Guyana.

We cannot ignore the reality that our security threats are not unique, given the similarities in the situation of Crime and Violence in Caribbean and Latin American countries.

I am certain that we are all aware that Guyana and the other countries in the Caribbean and in Latin America have seen an upsurge in criminal activities. Statistics, media reports and research all point to an increases and new trends of violence and transnational crime.

I know how shocked we all were a few weeks ago when the Minister of National Security in Trinidad and Tobago disclosed the presence of more than 50 criminal gangs in that territory, and in that same week from Jamaica, there were reports of as many as 157 deaths in one month. More recently, the Prime Minister of Barbados referred to the imperilling of Barbadian communities as a consequence of increased drug trafficking.

My colleague Heads and I have given considerable attention to this growing threat in the Caribbean. That intense focus led to the creation of the CARICOM Ministerial Committee on Crime and Security. Already that body has proposed initiatives for implementation in CARICOM countries.

However, in spite of the implementation of several of these and other initiatives such as the promulgation of new laws allowing easier criminal prosecutions, maritime interdiction, the provision of additional resources (financial, human and technical), the statistics suggest that we are still to attain a sustained and significant impact on Crime and Violence in our region.

Notwithstanding, my government is committed to waging the war against all manifestations of Crime and Violence in our society.

That resolve recognises that the fight against crime begins with the marshalling of resources both locally and internationally.

We also have to continue to utilise the crime fighting resources more effectively.

I wish at this stage to outline a few areas in which I intend to intensify efforts to make our communities safer places to live.

For a start, we have to heighten all STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT in implementing crime prevention and crime fighting measures through:

1. Establishment of a National Commission on Law and Order

We intend to establish the National Commission on Law and Order which would include representatives of the Government, the Parliamentary Opposition, youth, religious organisations, academia, the private sector and organised labour. The Commission’s mandate will include the examination of existing and proposed policies and making recommendations to the President. This is one of the recommendations made to Heads by the CARICOM Ministerial Committee on Crime and Security.

2. Creation of Community Policing Ministerial Unit

A Ministerial Unit on Community Policing will be created within the Ministry of Home Affairs. This would lead to better management of the government’s undertakings and obligations to Community Policing. That Ministerial unit would be responsible for establishing and maintaining the necessary liaison between Community Policing groups, their regional and national bodies, the Police Divisional Command structures, Police Headquarters and other executive entities. Among the functions of that Unit would be those discharged by field officers who would be assigned to work with Community Policing groups in the different Police divisions. Community Policing Groups would now be benefitting from better administrative support, including funding from the $30M annual subvention I am now proposing.

4. Tougher Action Against Racial Incitement And Violence

We recognize that the current legal framework to address racially-motivated crime, racial incitement and the promotion of violence is inadequate. I expect more robust enforcement of existing laws by the Police and will be inviting recommendations to strengthen our laws in line with modern practices.

5. Greater NGO Involvement In Crime Prevention

Our attention to the media would be complemented by our efforts to increase the number of social workers and counsellors. These officers would aggressively support programmes in schools, clubs and work places to promote civic responsibility, and a culture of tolerance in our interpersonal relationship. They will collaborate with Non-Governmental groups that are actively involved in activities to protect children and spouses from abuse, violence and other anti-social acts. We intend to increase financial support to NGOs involved in these programmes.

Secondly, another area of emphasis will be CRIME PREVENTION. We intend to:

1. Introduction of the Neighbourhood Police:

In my travels around the country, many persons have expressed willingness to serve their communities as part of the Guyana Police Force but are constrained by either recruitment factors or reluctance to serve outside of their communities.

Recognising this willingness to serve and in the face of the need to improve policing of communities, I have decided to establish a new full-time community based-arm of the Guyana Police Force. Under this programme, 600 men and women drawn from their communities between the ages of 18 and 45 will be trained and employed to provide full-time residential Police presence to assist in the prevention and reduction of crime in their communities. These Neighbourhood Police will also support community policing groups. This is a new category of Police officers and is not intended to de-emphasise the regular policing for which recruitment will be intensified. I wish to thank the Commissioner of Police, the leadership of the Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs for their work on this initiative.

2. Penal Reform with emphasis on correction and reintegration

More attention will be directed to the Prison population and specifically from the perspective of ensuring the return of prisoners especially the young and first offenders, to productive lives on their release. In that regard, the staffing of the Guyana Prison Service would continue to be increased according to the approved four-year plan to increase appointments of training instructors. This would provide more opportunities for prisoners to acquire marketable skills during their period of incarceration. We envisage the introduction of new programmes to develop and enhance life skills that will be beneficial to inmates. This hopefully, would reduce recidivism among young offenders.

3. Heighten attention to vulnerable and at-risk groups

The Administration will provide more resources that will increase the opportunities for the unemployed, unskilled and out-of-school youth and prevent them falling prey to recruitment by anti-social and criminal elements. Yesterday, I launched a $350M nationwide non-residential national training programme for youth empowerment which will provide training in marketable skills for more than 5200 out-of-school youths. This programme will be conducted over the next three years with the intention of improving their opportunities for post secondary education and employment. This programme will complement existing programmes targeting ‘out-of-school’ young people.  Many wished to find a job or to continue studying, but they did not have the basic skills or qualification to realize their ambitions. This program will correct this situation and allow them to lead productive lives. We must ensure that they do not get involved in negative activities.  

4. Waiver of Duty and Taxes on surveillance technology for the private sector

Aware as I am of the unique exposure of the business community to criminal onslaughts, I am disposed to consider the provision of duty and tax concessions on the importation of electronic surveillance technology and other security related items to registered legitimate businesses to protect their business places and aid crime prevention.

Thirdly, all of these will have to be supplemented by stronger CRIME FIGHTING measures and effective Police operations. In this regard, areas for additional attention are:

1. Traffic:

Due to the improvement of our roadways and the increased number of vehicles on our roads, there has been an increase in accidents and fatalities. We are moving to:

- Introduce a modern traffic control system with more stringent laws, harsher punishment and rigid enforcement. These would be supported by greater reliance on advanced technology. For efficiency reasons, a modern ‘ticketing’ system for traffic violations would also be introduced to reduce incidents of corruption and harassment and loss of man-hours.

- Conduct a feasibility study for the separation of Motor Vehicle Inspection and Certification from the Police Force so that it can concentrate on its core functions.

2. White-collar crime:

We will focus more attention and resources to combating white-collar crimes, by implementing the following:

- the Fraud Squad in the CID will be strengthened through recruitment and exposure to additional training and the application of relevant technology

- we will commit more resources to enhance the work of the Financial Investigative Unit. Since becoming a member of Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, we now have greater access to training of staff and the preparation of legislation that would make it easier to prosecute money launderers

3. Immigration:

Due to the increase trans-national nature of crime, alien smuggling and trafficking in persons, we will modernise our Immigration and Naturalisation services. Therefore,

- we are introducing machine-readable Passports using an integrated database and will enact tougher legislation to deal with Immigration-related offences including back-tracking.

- we are examining the feasibility of creating a separate entity to deal with Immigration and Naturalisation services which would also release scarce Police personnel and resources

4. Gun Control:

Due to increased gun-related crimes caused by the inflows of illegal weapons, my Administration will:

- introduce tougher penalties for those convicted of illegal possession and use of firearms

- improve intelligence in this area

- expand the Guyana Revenue Authority’s ability to detect smuggled weapons at our sea ports and airports

- increase our military presence in the border areas for better interdiction

- increase international co-operation to combat trafficking in firearms

4. Strengthen Law Enforcement Agencies:

In addition to all of the above, there is a need for us to continue the increasing budgetary and policy support provided to the Guyana Police Force and other Law Enforcement agencies. Everyone would recognise our commitment to crime fighting through the increase in budgetary allocation which has grown from $500M to $3.4 billion during the past decade. In this regard:

- more funding will be made available for new Police stations, rehabilitation of existing buildings, enhancing communication and transportation, providing modern facilities and increasing state-of-the equipment including forensic capabilities and computerization, communication and transportation

- we will upgrade the data collection and data analysis capabilities of the Law Enforcement agencies. The focus will be on compiling crime statistics for use in guiding policy and operations.

- we will consider a comprehensive review of the demarcation of existing Policing Divisions and the placement of Police stations. Already, commitments have been made for additional Police Stations in Regions 4 and 5.

The establishment of a National Commission on Law and Order, the creation of a Community Policing Ministerial Unit, tougher action against racial incitement and violence, the introduction of the Neighbourhood Police arm, penal reforms, heightened attention to vulnerable groups, a modern traffic control system, increased attention to white-collar crime, tougher gun control, modernising and enhancing the Law Enforcement agencies anti-crime capacities are just some of the initiatives that will give you an idea about our approach to fighting crime. Many of these measures are either at the point of implementation or under active consideration. Others will join the list of proposals and recommendations for combating Crime and Violence that would be laid before the National Commission on Law and Order.

Additionally, I wish to announce that I intend to confirm Minister Teixeira as the substantive Minister of Home Affairs.

As we move to eradicate the scourge of drug trafficking and crime in general, the important role of the Judiciary cannot be overemphasised. I recognise that careful forensic investigation and Policing constitute an essential basis for conviction. I urge that in our Courts, particularly in our Magistrates’ Court, that evidence presented by the Prosecution be carefully weighed and evaluated to ensure justice is served.

In conclusion, I wish to thank our citizens who have resolved to work with the administration and representative bodies to combat the scourge of crime. I also wish to acknowledge our international partners for their current and anticipated support.

Our Law Enforcement Agencies deserve the support of all Guyanese to carryout their functions. Making communities and indeed the entire country safer, is an effort that must involve all Guyanese. I exhort everyone to join in this national endeavour.

Thank you.

Le Meridien, Pegasus

June 21, 2005

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