Security Sector Oversight Committee…Unless the Government is prepared to accept advice and implement recommendations, the establishment of the Security Sector Oversight Committee, while a step in the right direction, is no guarantee that the security sector would be improved.This is the view of the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR).The motion to establish the Standing Committee for Oversight of the Security Sector was finally approved with unanimous support in the National Assembly on Thursday.The Committee will be charged with the responsibility of examining the policies and administration of the entities in the security sector based on a gazetted list determined by the government to be under the purview of the Standing Committee.Its members would be required to subscribe to an Oath of Secrecy.The PNCR said that it had always supported the establishment of such a committee, which was one of the recommendations that arose out of the short-lived stakeholder consultation on security.However the party stated that it is the failure or refusal of the Jagdeo Administration to implement all of the recommendations from that stakeholder forum that was partly responsible for the British Government withdrawing millions of dollars that were made available to the Government of Guyana for support of the Security Sector Plan.The PNCR had made several suggestions and recommendations for the terms of reference and method of operation of this Committee but the PPP/C administration rejected all.“For example,Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys, the PNCR had suggested that the Chairmanship of this Committee should be rotated annually as is presently the case with the four Sector Committees of the National Assembly, but this was flatly rejected by the PPP/C. The Government insisted on permanently holding the Chairmanship of the Committee.”The PNCR had also sought to have the scope of the Committee expanded to include entities such as the Customs Anti Narcotics Unit, but this too was rejected.The main opposition said that based on the attitude of the PPP/C Administration in rejecting all suggestions so far, there can be no guarantee that this Committee would ever be permitted to function effectively or that any suggestions emanating there from will be taken seriously.“In time, the people of Guyana will be the best judges of this matter,” the PNCR stated.
