Police Officers stationed in the Region Seven District have been without their allowances or even an explanation for this state of affairs for almost six months. According to the officers, the issue has resulted in adverse effects on their personal lives.
The Guyana Standard spoke to two of the affected officers on the basis of anonymity. One of the ranks explained that they were transferred to the Region in January of this year. The rank explained that the allowances were issued on a monthly basis to all ranks, including Junior and Senior Ranks.
The rank noted that the last time the allowance was issued was back in May of this year. “When we received our June salary we were all shocked that the allowance was not there. We went to the Station Officer and asked about it and he didn’t even have an answer since he too didn’t receive his own,” the rank said.
The Officer further stated that the ranks were made privy to information that ranks in other regions were experiencing the same issue. “It happened for two months with them and then they started receiving their allowances again. We then went back to the station officer and he told us that our allowances had to be redirected to the Welfare Department.
Another rank explained that enquiries were made with a senior rank of the division who told them that the issue with the force’s Welfare Department had already been rectified. “We were made to understand that funds had to be redirected to Welfare because there was no money in the welfare fund. The thing is if that was the case why not tell us,” The rank said.
The Officer further noted, “I got obligations in Georgetown. I left town knowing that with the allowance I could still maintain my family and financial obligations and this has made things really difficult. I can’t understand why no matter how much we try to find out what is going on they never got an answer. That’s why I decided to reach out to the media because it is overbearing now. We left home to work here and it has not been easy.”
Meanwhile, this news outlet reached out to the Guyana Police Force for a comment on the claims made by the ranks. Public Relations Officer Mark Ramotar explained that he was unaware of the issue and promised to have it queried.
