MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee announced, last week, that the Forensic Laboratory being built in the University of Guyana (UG) precincts will be completed and commissioned by the end of October.

Speaking at a press conference, in his Brickdam, Georgetown office, he said the facility is nearing completion and the physical work on the building is virtually complete.
Rohee added that, presently, the calibrated equipment which has already arrived in the country is being installed by a team from Barbados.
He stated that the security features of the laboratory are also being put in place, as well as the technical aspects to make it fully functional.
Rohee said his ministry has been assured that, by the third week in October, all the highly technical jobs will be finished.
He pointed out that the staff has been hired and will, soon, sign their contracts, making them legally attached to the entity.

DNA testing
Rohee disclosed: “We have been asked by Office of the President (OP) to work towards building capacity in the Forensic Laboratory, to facilitate DNA testing but we have decided to complete the laboratory first because we don’t want to further delay the commissioning.”
He explained that they want to finish what they started, that is, the completion of the lab and, with the human resources in place, they will then move to the next stage of looking at ways and means in which to cooperate in DNA testing.
Last December, a US$1.688M contract was signed by the ministry and Western Scientific Company for the supply of the equipment for the facility which, when complete, will be the only such in the Caribbean and one that could withstand scrutiny from any other country in the world, Rohee said.
The sod for the construction was turned in September 2010 and the project will cost $700M ($500M for constructing it and $200M for equipping it), for which procedures are now moving through the National Procurement Tender Board.
The lab is becoming a reality as a result of an agreement signed between the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as part of the institutional strengthening component of the Citizen Security Programme (CSP).
Over the years, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) has been at a disadvantage in carrying out effective investigations into criminal matters, resulting in unsolved cases. However, the completion of the laboratory will, significantly, improve local forensic capabilities, thereby enhancing the security sector.   (M. Outridge)