Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. AFP PHOTO

President Bharrat Jagdeo announced last week that they were close to signing a contract with Kerik, despite some concerns from Opposition Leaders in the South American nation.

“We are looking to contract Mr Kerik from February 1 to provide general advisory services to the President and the Minister of Home Affairs,” Jagdeo told a media conference.

Since August last year, the Jagdeo administration announced plans to hire Kerik to lead a reform of the police force.  Critics of the Jagdeo government have opposed the appointment citing Kerik’s involvement in several controversies, including accepting gifts from a company that was trying to do business with New York City while he served as a senior police officer.

Kerik visited the South American nation last year, a trip that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said it did not pay for.  The bank is financing a US$20 million project to reform the police force.

“He will be placed on a retainer, so if we hire him to perform other kinds of duties to the police force, he will be paid separately for those issues, and if he has to come in under the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) programme, he would have to follow the bidding process for the IDB programme,” Jagdeo explained.

He pointed out that Kerik’s contract will be for one-year and renewable, but reiterated that his contract will be a retainer to provide general advisory services on security matters.

Some of the areas that the reform would cover include: setting up a SWAT team organisation, an anti-crime unit and training in areas such as crowd control and driving.

Guyana is battling incidences of gun-related crimes linked to narco-trafficking, robberies, and frequent clashes between criminal gangs.

Kerik recently met with the Minister of National Security in Trinidad and Tobago to discuss anti-crime measures amidst huge criticisms.