The government will go ahead in passing anti-crime legislation at the risk that it may jeopardize the Social Partners dialogue.
Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday at his weekly press conference that the concerns that have surfaced were discussed by Cabinet and the position taken to proceed with the legislation was categorical.
He said the PNCR, in making its reservations known, had resorted to its usual efforts and tactics at intimidation.
He said, "We are now advised that the PNCR is threatening to abort the Social Partners dialogue." The PNCR in a press release issued on Monday, said that the anti-crime legislation could undermine and possibly derail the joint consultation. The party said it had brought this to the attention of the Social Partners group, which is facilitating the process.
Luncheon said that at this stage the anti-crime bills seemed to have generated much more attention out of parliament than in. He noted that the draft legislation had been in circulation in the legal fraternity and in the state judiciary for quite some time before they were finally taken to cabinet for consideration.
For Cabinet the three most important hurdles have passed, he said. They include the draft bills, which after being circulated have not attracted serious and/or any fatal objection; Cabinet examination and approval of the bills; and the support of the PPP/C parliamentary group.
Asked whether it would be wise to go forward with the crime legislation while the nationwide consultations on crime were still ongoing, Luncheon said even before the national consultations started the government had developed drafts of the proposed anti-crime legislation.
He said he had "absolutely no recall that this administration undertook to await the outcome of the national consultations on crime to fashion its legislative responses to the criminal situation in Guyana." As early as May or June, he said, President Bharrat Jagdeo indicated that the government would be undertaking certain initiatives to deal with the crime wave.
He said the extension of the time for the consultations on crime, was done to allow for the rescheduling of some of the major consultations that had either been postponed or to which attendance was poor. The focus, he added, was now on compiling the report of the consultations with particular attention being paid to the findings, views, concerns and recommendations of people within their communities.