| ADVENTURE, CORENTYNE – Work on the rehabilitation of the Felix Austin Police College ‘B’ Division at Adventure on the Corentyne began last Monday.The estimated cost of the project is some $2 million.President of the Chamber, Bhigroog Poonai,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, explained that the task at hand is to paint the facility, renovate walls, fix windows and other minor repairs, purchase beds, do the landscaping and general things to improve the aesthetics of the college.In February the Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce promised to restore the college. This commitment to assist in restoring the facility came in the wake of a plea by the Commander of Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force, Assistant Commissioner Clinton Conway, in February during a meeting with the Chamber.The chamber has since formed a restoration committee to overlook the venture. Mr. Poonai, who is also president of the organization, said that the project would be done in stages.Fund-raising ventures began in April to finance the rehabilitation. In February, the chamber started the ball rolling with its $100,000 pledge for the drive.Members of the chamber, along with Commander Conway, have been meeting with business persons from the three towns in Berbice — New Amsterdam, Rose Hall and Corriverton, to seek funding.To date, they raised some $1.5 million in cash and material.Mr. Poonai cited shortage of manpower as the main reason for undertaking to restore the Felix Austin Police College ‘B’ Division. “The place is there and it is under-utilized and there is always a shortage of police ranks,Cheap NFL Jerseys, so if it is restored we can start training people right here in Berbice. It can also be used for training community policing groups and neighbourhood police as well.”The project should be completed within one month. Mr. Poonai is optimistic that they are backing a winning horse. “Our crime rate here in Berbice is not high,Cheap NFL Jerseys, and I would like to compliment the Commander of Division ‘B’ of the Guyana Police Force and his ranks for doing a good job in keeping the crime rate down.”Mr. Poonai said that since the chamber was established in 2004, there has been a close working relationship with the Guyana Police Force.Commander Conway is also appealing to Berbicians to assist in the drive to restore the facility to its former glory.The actual structures at the college were built by members of the police construction section from Georgetown and Berbice. Well wishers donated the necessary materials and equipment.The spot on which the college is constructed was previously the traffic outpost which was established after the commissioning of the Corentyne Highway in the early 1970s.Felix Austin Police College ‘B’ Division was declared open in 1990 by the late President Hugh Desmond Hoyte.Heading the Guyana Police Force at that time was Commissioner Laurie Lewis, with Assistant Commissioner Winston Felix as Commander of Division ‘B’.At the time of its establishment, Clinton Conway was the Commandant of the institution. He held the rank of Assistant Superintendent, and five years later, on his departure, had climbed several rungs to the rank of Senior Superintendent.The college is known to have produced,Cheap Jerseys From China Online, among others, persons such as Superintendent David Ramnarine, who is now in charge of the Court Superintendent’s Office at Brickdam; Superintendent Simon Mc Bean, who was last stationed at the Tactical Services Unit and is now pursuing his Masters Degree in England; and Assistant Superintendent Errol Watts, now the Officer in Charge of the Upper East Coast of Demerara (Mahaica/Mahaicony).Eighteen years later,Wholesale China Jerseys, the Felix Austin Police College ‘B’ Division is in a deplorable state.The Commander is optimistic that, with this facility in shape,Cheap NFL Jerseys China Stitched, the number of police ranks would increase in Berbice.He said this would not only assist in boosting manpower in the division, but also assist in the fight against crime.According to him, acting Commissioner of Police Henry Greene recently directed the Assistant Commissioner of Training to embark on a rigid recruitment drive to address the existing manpower shortage. Commissioner Green is placing emphasis on recruitment and training at all levels and in each division.Interested persons would not only be recruited at the Adventure college, but they will be trained there and will remain in the division.At this facility, not only new recruits would be trained, but those already in the force will also benefit. |
