Deputy Commissioner of Police (ag) Operations, Clifton Hicken along with Colonel Skeete of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on Thursday visited the township of Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini), where they met with officials of the Regional Administration and Town Council.
The visit was a security assessment of the Region. During the meeting, Hicken and SKeete assured the officials that the Joint Services will thoroughly investigate allegations of rape brought against military personnel in the past week.
Both teams expressed concern over the acts and committed to rebuilding the image and public trust of the Joint Services.
The regional team raised concerns of poor accommodations for members of the Joint Services and noted that proper and adequate transportation was needed for both land and water.
This, the team pointed out, is for the effective combating of crime and other duties the Joint Services conduct in the Region. The issue of timely payment of contracted suppliers of the Joint Services was also raised.
Hicken and Skeete reiterated that members of the Joint Services who are serving in the Region must and will be proactive while approaching their duties with a high level of professionalism.
A commitment was given for the serving members to continue collaborations with the Regional Administration on various projects and activites.
These assurances were met with the Regional Administration team’s pledge of support to the Joint Services’ members serving in the Region.
Talks of continued collaboration to ensure highly maintained security in Region One were also explored.
The Regional Administration team was led by Regional Chairman Mr. Brentnol Ashley; Vice-Chair Annasha Peters; REO Tikaram Bisesar; and other members of the RDC.
A team from the Mabaruma Mayor and Town Council led by Mayor Chris Phang, Deputy Mayor Carolyn Robinson, and Town Clerk Ganesh Seecharran were also present.
After the meeting, the Joint Services team visited the following areas: Morawhanna, Shell Beach, Imbotero, and the Mabaruma Police Station where they briefed ranks of what was expected of them.
They also urged them to continue to work together to fulfill the mandate of securing the Region and the country’s frontier.
