By Michelle Joseph- The Alliance For Change (AFC) is urging Guyanese to express their outrage over the ongoing shootings and killings and to demand more from the Government and the Guyana Police Force. The AFC in its release emphasised that Guyana needs a moral reckoning—citizens of all strata, creed, and colour must agree that they do not deserve to die suddenly and violently by bullets.
It is also highlighted that citizens should not have to witness their friends and family members being wounded and pierced with bullets. The AFC noted two recent killings.
On July 21, Jairam Ramikishun, a 69-year-old male of Westminster Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, was shot and killed at his home in a suspected robbery attempt.
Another victim, Evelyn Alves, a young female, lost her life execution-style in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
The AFC offered condolences to the families of the victims but stressed the need for Guyanese to be outraged by such shootings and killings, especially given their increasing frequency. The party urged citizens to make their demands public through the press, social media, or public demonstrations, calling on the Government and law enforcement to carefully diagnose why there is an increase in shootings and killings.
The AFC insists that the Government must act to find the root cause of the problem and develop solutions to decrease and/or eliminate gun violence.
Key points from the AFC’s release include calls for budgetary allocations for better security for all Guyanese, stressing that proposals must be structured to target the increase in gun crime. The AFC emphasizes the need to devote additional resources to curb gun crimes and murders, highlighting that such measures are affordable by any budgetary standard, especially when compared to the loss of lives, medical costs, lost earnings, reduced quality of life, and the overall consequential cost of gun violence. The party argues that funds must be allocated specifically for the reduction of shootings and killings. The Guyana Police Force and the Ministry of Home Affairs must thereafter provide progress reports, which should show that monies are being spent on people, places, and behaviors identified as root causes of gun violence.
The AFC also underscored the work previously done under the Citizen and Strengthening Programme and the British Security Sector Reform Programme, suggesting that the recommendations from these initiatives were either ceased or shelved. The political party believes that to reduce gun violence sustainably, the enforcement actors, primarily the Guyana Police Force, must craft appropriate evidence-based solutions.
The party expressed dismay at the current state of the Guyana Police Force, especially among some in its Officer Corps, who seem far removed from their core functions and progressive activities, warning that the nation will suffer as a result.
