Citizens have over the past six months lived on the edge, so to speak, not knowing where and when the bandits will strike next. As the crimes mount, the psychosis of fear gives way to desperation as our business community witnesses crime descending from one extreme to the next. We have moved from armed robberies to kidnapping and there seems to be little rebate from the daily acts of banditry perpetuated on innocent civilians.

Businesses have suffered. A number of business places have been forced to close their doors early as increasingly Guyanese retreat to the safety of their homes as soon as the sun sets.

Crime has become sophisticated and senseless, and the criminals ruthless. Bandits are now using heavy weaponry, driving fear in the hearts of the most courageous of citizens. Therefore, one can empathise with the concerns of Guyanese, especially the business sector, both formal and informal.

However, knee jerk reactions and paranoia will not solve our problems. What we need is a rational approach rather than emotional appeals such as the one to shut the country down tomorrow. Very early in the crisis, the representative body for the private sector recognised the gravity of the situation and met the Government to learn about plans to end this spiral of violent attacks. At the same time, civil society came together in an initiative to bring the opposition parties together.

The Government has outlined a menu of measures to deal with the crisis, making very clear that some of these would take time to impact on crime. In addition, the Government and the opposition parties met under the auspices of the civil society grouping and agreement was reached on a way to proceed. In addition, a national consultation on crime was launched countrywide and laws enacted to assist in the fight against crime. So on both the legal, political and law enforcement fronts, there have been initiatives to address the concerns of citizens.

It is in the context of this structured approach to resolving our problems that we ask what useful purpose can be served by shutting the country down for one day? To what end is this protest planned?

The organisers have said that it is to awaken the Government to the crime problem and to demand that the Government and the opposition meet. However, the Government has been awake to the problem and has met with the opposition. So, what exactly is the objective of the protest? Surely, those organising the protests must know that there is no miracle solution. They themselves have not advanced any new proposals for addressing the crime problem. Therefore, to what end is the protest?

The only sections of the society who will benefit from this protest will be the criminals. Any shutdown of the country will send an emphatic signal to them that they have succeeded in crippling our society. It will be their victory and once they have scented victory, they will maximise their advantage and this will make the task of our law enforcement agencies more difficult.