HOME Affairs Minister Clement Rohee last Friday told reporters that the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) is expected to be opened in the first week of July this year.He told the media after the GFSL logo design competition presentation ceremony that completion of the GFSL logo design is an indication that things are a step closer to commissioning of the GFSL.

He added that things are in the final stages of completion, but there is a slight delay as the authorities await the arrival of experts from Trinidad and Tobago to install specialised equipment. Those experts were expected to arrive in Guyana on Monday last.

He said the GFSL is expected to be fully equipped and functional before its opening in the first week of July, and that staff have already been selected and are just waiting to assume duty whenever the GFSL commences operating.

Minister Rohee said many entries had been received in the GFSL Logo Design Competition but the one submitted by Keith Bernard was approved since its design was adjudged most appropriate and fitting by a panel of judges.

Rohee congratulated Keith Bernard for the effort, and presented him with the first prize.

With regard to DNA testing at the facility, Minister Rohee said, “we have been asked by the Office of the President to work towards building capacity in the lab to facilitate DNA testing, so we have been given that directive. What we have decided is to complete what we have set out to do in accordance with the plan for the completion of the lab, because we do not want to delay further the commissioning of the laboratory.”

He said the Home Affairs Ministry will achieve what it has started out to do, and on completion of this project, and with the staff in place, will move to the next stage of looking at ways and means of incorporating DNA testing in the functioning of the lab.

Responding, Keith Bernard said the concept of his submission is very simple, and that he conceptualised the idea after doing much research.

He said the logo design comprises a magnifying glass a DNA strain, and a fingerprint, which he deemed most fitting, since its all about forensic science.

Keith Bernard is a graphic artist who owns a company called Pixel Plus Creations.

The logo design competition was advertised in the local media for three weeks, after which entries were received by MOHA, and the winner was selected by a panel of judges from the private sector, Guyana National Bureau of Standards, Environmental Protection Agency and University of Guyana.

Director of the GFSL, Delon France, expressed gratitude to the winner of the competition, and to Minister Rohee and others who supported the initiative. He noted that the opening of the GFSL will certainly boost the crime-solving capacity of the security sector, and he also talked of forensic science and its importance in any society.

In April 2011, Government signed a contract valued at $450M with Courtney Benn Contracting Services for construction of the lab. The project was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in partnership with the Guyana Government, and is expected to greatly enhance the investigative capabilities of the Guyana Police Force.

(By Michel Outridge)