THE Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) yesterday reported that a team of representatives from the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (MTFTIP) visited the Mahdia community in Region 8, as well as surrounding areas, from March 27-29, 2015 to conduct surveillance on suspicious business establishments and other locations in the area.The visit was conducted as part of the implementation of the National Action Plan for 2014-2015 of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP).

The team while in Mahdia made extensive efforts to obtain information from police officers, mines officers, villagers, shop owners and Toshaos in and around Mahdia about suspicious activities in the area, MOHA added.
While in Mahdia, the team surveyed several night spots in the area, inclusive of those that demanded special attention as a result of information received by the Task Force. While females were witnessed frequenting these locations, investigations revealed that patrons of those business premises were above the age of eighteen years.
The Task Force also visited seventeen business establishments in Central Mahdia, St. Elisabeth, Pamela Landing, Jumbie Creek, 35 Backdam, Konawaruk Junction and Micobie and questioned the owners and other individuals present on the premises.
At each of the locations, shop owners were requested to produce their business registration documents and state their number of employees, while employees were requested to produce their identification cards for name and age verification along with work permits. Employees’ interviews were not conducted in the presence of employers. All buildings were inspected by the team inclusive of the shops and domestic quarters.
The team did encounter labour violations involving two females, one under-aged and one adult, who were employed at a shop in the area. The owners of that shop were charged with employing a child on a premises selling intoxicating liquor contrary to Section 52 of the Protection of Children Act No. 17 of 2009 and placed before the Courts. The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security commenced the provision of psychosocial support to this under-aged female.
The findings of the Task Force on its visit to Mahdia are in sharp contrast with sentiments attributed to the Head of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) in an article featured on page 3A of the February 15, 2015 edition of the Stabroek News titled ‘Child Care Agency rescues girl being pimped by her mother’.
It is evident that members of the GWMO seek to automatically apply the term ‘trafficking in persons’ in all instances when they encounter minors or young adult females in interior regions. The Task Force has repeatedly sought to distinguish between terms such as ‘child labour’, ‘prostitution’ and ‘trafficking in persons’ in its awareness sessions and workshops as they are respectively unique in nature.
In addition, to the activity in Region 8 and in keeping with the aforementioned National Action Plan, the Task Force from January, 2014 to date has conducted community and secondary schools trafficking in persons awareness activities in Regions 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 along with maintaining a presence at a number of national exhibitions, such as GUYEXPO.
The Task Force also deployed its ‘Surprise Inspection Framework (SIF)’ in business establishments, including shops, night spots and other locations in Central Georgetown, East Bank and East Coast Demerara in Region 4; Mahaicony, Rosignol and Blairmont in Region 5; Corentyne Coast in Region 6; Bartica, Tamakay Landing and Backdam, Itaballi and 14 Miles Issano in Region 7; Lethem in Region 9 and Linden in Region 10.
In light of the foregoing, it must be noted that the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons respects the right of non-governmental organisations to operate independently but wishes to reiterate its willingness to collaborate with any non-governmental organisation to reduce incidences of trafficking in persons in Guyana. (Michel Outridge)