They had "fruitful discussions" on a paper submitted by the Social Partners which reportedly contains "a number of suggestions and perspectives" aimed at tackling the crime situation which has gripped the country, an official said.

Among those at the latest meeting between the President and the group were former Police Commissioner, Mr. Laurie Lewis and two former Chiefs of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Major General (rtd.) Joe Singh and Major General (rtd.) Norman McLean.

The Social Partners grouping - comprising the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) - had consulted Singh, McLean and Lewis on the crime paper which was presented to President Jagdeo and which was the centre of discussions at yesterday's meeting, a top Government official said.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon said Cabinet at its meeting yesterday reviewed the crime situation and in that context, "reviewed the paper presented by the Social Partners on the current security environment".

Luncheon indicated that in that paper, the Social Partners are seeking an engagement with the Government, parliamentary political parties and the civil society organisations on a mass-based, comprehensive response to the current crime wave.

He said the Social Partners, headed by PSC Chairman, Dr. Peter DeGroot, brought along the former Heads of the Joint Services entities to the meeting with the Guyanese Head of State.

It is understood that the current Heads of the Joint Services, Government Ministers and Luncheon attended the meeting.

Luncheon, at his regular post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the President was also asked to comment on the response to the call by a group to shut down the country for two days over the crime situation.

"The Executive has reviewed over time, the impact of the crime wave and the consequences that they have had on Guyanese at the level of individuals, at the level of families, at the level of communities and here also we're looking at sectoral interest because there have also been differential impacts," he said.

He added that "arising from our analysis over time, the administration is certainly aware of first and foremost, the insecurity, and then increasingly so, the outrage and the burgeoning hostility that is being developed against the perpetrators and those who are involved and provide support for criminals and their activities."

"We see the intervention by the business community and those who have allied themselves with the business community in genuine ways as a response to their fears, their anxieties, their concerns - and to be saying that they recognise that there is a political contribution of no mean order to what is befalling us here in Guyana.

"And I believe that those participants in today's (yesterday's) day of protest, or day of rest, those participants who have genuinely gone into this activity and have directed their energies to making a point to the politicians, they can rest assured that the administration has not failed to understand and has not failed to recognise the message," Luncheon said.

He, however, noted that he can speak only for and on behalf of the PPP/C administration.