"Recently, we have been faced with the awful reality of crime: crime in the new dimensions, in newer guises and all the more deadly; it is this aspect of crime that threatens our social peace," the Guyanese Head of State lamented.

According to him, "it is this crime that is thwarting our efforts to promote our economy and bring growth and development to Guyana (and) it is the peace that crime is disturbing, the peace that our army and our law enforcement agencies must preserve."

President Jagdeo further noted that all over the world, national armies are intimately involved in the fight against crime and "we are no different in Guyana".

"The Guyanese people want their army to be involved in the fight against crime," the President said yesterday while addressing the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Commissioning Parade at Drill Square, Camp Ayanganna, Georgetown.

He pointed out that during the recently concluded National Consultations on Crime, "over two-thirds of the Guyanese consulted were supportive of military crime fighting and by the same margin, called for even greater involvement by the army in fighting crime".

The army's support for the police in the crime fight is lawful and constitutional and this support will continue, the Guyanese Head of State assured.

The President also admitted that he is well aware that the job of a policeman is a difficult one and sometimes not fully appreciated.

"But I want to assure you that my government will continue the reform of the Police Force to further improve its intelligence and investigative capabilities and provide adequate equipment and appropriate training (and) in these difficult times, I wish to express appreciation for your work on behalf of the people of Guyana," he stated.

"Let it be clear - my government will spare no (effort) to equip and prepare the forces, the Army and the Police, to tackle and overcome this problem," he said.

"I want to take this opportunity to exhort my countrymen and women to remain hopeful and continue to focus on the tasks of nation building. Guyana is our common home and we have to build and guard it collectively. In staying steadfast it will do us well to remember those who in the past, and the present, have excelled and seek courage from their heroic efforts to develop Guyana."

"Whatever difficulties we face today will be resolved. We have defined the challenges before us. Let me express the hope that you will rise to these challenges," he added.

"We must work to bring an end to the stalemate that characterises the national discourse between the major stakeholders in the process of development," the President said.

He is confident that this in turn, will have a positive impact on building a harmonious, multicultural community, influence speedier economic growth and accelerate the delivery of services to the people.

Mr. Jagdeo feels that in such an environment, "the security of our citizens and property can best be assured".

The President feels that the leaders in society have only one option and that is to sit down and work together to address issues of concern to our people.

“The only pre-condition to this engagement is that there must be absolute commitment and loyalty to and love for our country,” Mr. Jagdeo said.

“ In short, we have to put our house in order before we can tackle the larger challenge of securing for ourselves a comfortable place in the modern world," President Jagdeo asserted.

"In this context, social peace and stability is a condition not only for our people to maintain normalcy in their lives but also to successfully compete in the world economy and thus to bring adequate growth and development to Guyana," he posited.

"We must have stability to make the risk of investing in Guyana a reasonable one. We must have peace if we are to mobilise fully and harness all our resources for the challenges of nation building," he added.

The President also pointed out that the army has an important role to play in safeguarding that peace.

"This focus in the army must complement its traditional roles of protecting our territorial integrity and ensuring our sovereignty," the President said.