By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the Minnis administration produced a report into the security of Government House that was never shared with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for its review and input.
Three days after an RBDF marine was killed at Government House in 2019, a committee was established to investigate whether there were any security breaches or oversights and to give feedback on what improvements could be made to security at Government House.
The committee’s report was completed by February 2020, but was never released to the public.
“I have seen the report,” Mr Munroe said yesterday. “When I came to office I discovered that it had not been provided to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and in my first meeting with the commodore I discovered that and I directed that it be provided to him. I will be interested in hearing the comments from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Royal Bahamas Police Force on the content of that report and then we can speak about it generally and publicly.
“I can tell you that it speaks about upgrades in CCTV coverage at Government House and having been at Government House on National Heroes Day holiday, a lot of that is being built into the current renovation. It also spoke to increasing the barriers at Government House but that will be something that will have to be determined in discussions with the Governor General’s Office. It’s an historic house and they may not wish to have the wall go up by six feet, they might not wish to have intrusive fencing, certainly on Shirley Street side, but that is a matter that after discussion with the Defence Force, the police force and the office at Government House we will make a determination.”
Mr Munroe also said the RBDF has a manpower problem. “I found an agency that had its mission multiplied, but its manpower and resources weren’t properly addressed,” he said. “The prime minister in writing to me has tasked me to increase their institutional capacity which to me will mean increasing their manpower and resources.
“I came to a ministry that has only an acting permanent secretary, Cheryl Darville, who is very committed to what she is doing, but currently she does not have the support of an undersecretary and I have found and made the determination having seen a review that the ministry’s structures are not correctly populated to do the jobs that the ministry is tasked to do.”
Comments
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 5 months ago
I get what he's saying and I agree with all points... but why do you need a report to implement minimum changes? How much does a cctv system for that compound cost? Exactly. Thats the first thing I would find out, because I dont want another of my men to be shot dead at 2AM in the morning.
The next thing I'd do is try to understand if the night shifts need to be shortened. Are they effective. Or is there some aspect of discipline or training missing with having the men stay awake for a night shift. Speak with the experts around the world who do it all the time. Do the guards at the american embassy fall asleep?
When you have "your" costs together and your justifications, you present it to Dames, can we get this done immediately? None of this required a report from anyone . CCTV on the grounds has nothing to do with upgrades to the building meaning the two can be handled separately with knowledge that additional cameras would have to be added in the building renovation.
The absolute minimum the commodore should have been able to day is I didnt get a report but understanding the urgency, here's what I did. It seems like very lazy or non strategic thinking across the board
ThisIsOurs 2 years, 5 months ago
You have to stop the bleeding at the same time as you plan the next attack. No general has the luxury of waiting on a field report while men are bleeding out
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