By Kurt Campbell
[www.inewsguyana.com] – A technical fault on the part of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is being reasoned as the cause for the unresponsive 911 system, which has attracted much criticism in recent months.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told reporters on Tuesday, April 22 that following examination by experts/specialists, who were recruited to fix the deficiencies which exist, it was concluded that the abundance of calls that go unanswered is the result of a technical error.
Rohee said persons would place calls to the number (911) and wait for it to ring on the receiving end but it did not, even though the person placing the call would hear it ringing.
“This is clearly a technical problem,” the Minister reasoned, adding that GT&T which holds a monopoly on the provision of landline services in Guyana has refused to accept responsibility for the problem.
In the same vein, Rohee disclosed that he has completed perusing a very “complex document” that was compiled by the overseas specialists on the problem. He explained that the specialists offered three solutions.
These include that Guyana implement a single emergency number as opposed to having more than one, as is the case presently or review the system in its entirety, all of which the Minister posited was very costly to undertake.
He did point out however that the administration was engaged in seeking further advice on the way forward, adding that this process was necessary.
iNews (www.inewsguyana.com) has since made contact with the service provider GT&T and a comment should be forthcoming.
In December 2013, Minister Rohee expressed his frustration with the issue.
“I am fed up with this whole situation of poor performance of the 911 system. This issue has come up at several meetings….I don’t know if it is a technological problem but I know it is not a problem with clerical staff,” Rohee had said then.
Citizens had also lashed out at the system after it failed when it was needed in the face of life threatening emergencies and criminal activities.
