- clears air on testing of CANU officers
MINISTER of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, has cleared the air on speculations in the media by persons who have been criticising the recent polygraph testing that were done on Customs Anti Narcotics Unit (CANU) officers.

“They are not qualified; they don’t belong to the polygrapher’s association of the world, so I don’t know on what basis they are making these statements since they have no knowledge as far as I am aware, based on my investigations as to whether they are knowledgeable about the scientific rational behind polygraphing,” Minister Rohee chided.

The Home Affairs Minister, who was responding to questions posed by the media on the reliability of polygraphing, said that it is internationally accepted and emphasised that the individual brought in to conduct the testing is highly qualified.

“I can only rely on the expert that was brought to Guyana to do the polygraphing. He is highly qualified; he is a member of the American Polygraph Association. He holds the number two position in that body if I am correct.

Polygraphing is an internationally acceptable thing in order to determine whether your staff has a ‘good bill of health’.”

President Bharrat Jagdeo earlier in the month had disclosed that CANU officers would be subject to lie-detector tests as the investigations into the allegation of fraud at the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) widened.

The Head of State had said that it was the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr. Kurshid Sattaur, who had brought the fraud suspicions to his attention following revelations by the company, Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Investments had been embroiled previously in a matter with the GRA concerning the alleged smuggling of beer.

Subsequently, the President said that those who underwent polygraph testing and failed will be sent home.

Meanwhile, in relation to the swearing-in of Mr. Dennis Balkissoon Morgan Mudlier as Chairman of the Police Service Commission on Tuesday by President Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister Rohee said that he would like to see that the Commission swiftly addresses the backlog of appointments.

“What I would like to see is the Commission getting down to work in terms of the backlog of appointments and so forth…from the Police perspective because as the Minister who is responsible for the Police Force, there are a number of things that have been accumulating.”