Most business places on Regent Street, part of the city's main shopping district, and in some other quarters of Georgetown were closed in protest at the escalating crime situation in the country.

Those that were open did not see the relevance of closing with some claiming that this would definitely not solve the problem.

In advertisements, a group calling itself 'Unite Guyana' had urged businesspeople and others to shut down the country for two days to protest the recent spate of criminal activities in the country.

"...and nobody gon give me a cent when I close me business fo two days. I got to eat and this is me means of living," a stallholder in the Stabroek Market, Georgetown, told the Chronicle.

She was one of the few stallholders in the market, including the meat centres, that were open for business.

Some were open to facilitate customers but had planned to close earlier than normal while others who wanted to sell were packing up to leave since they said nothing was being sold.

Markets and some stores in the city usually close after lunch on Wednesdays.

City branches of the Courts furniture giant closed their doors shortly after 13:00 hrs but officials said this was not in solidarity with those in protest.

Courts Managing Director, Mr. David Burgess, explained that the closure was due to calls made to staff members to the effect that there will be drive-by shooting/s. He said business was also relatively slow and the decision was made to send the workers home for the day.

He said they reluctantly decided to close the stores since "customers were not around" to pay installments. He stressed that the company is here to serve its 60,000 odd customers as well as pay its staff members.

"If we close, where will the money to pay the staff come from?" he asked.

An official of the Education Ministry said that due to a bomb scare, the ministry was not able to analyse data definitively in terms of the attendance at schools countrywide.

He, however, said there was a 90% attendance rate of public officers within the ministry, while more than 90% of the teachers nationwide turned out to schools yesterday.

He said there was about a 40% attendance rate at city schools while the other regions were more depressing with 30% as he noted that schools with higher enrollment would affect the percentages.

He expressed the hope that students would turn out to school noting that it is not a holiday and that they are the ones standing to lose.

Traffic was lighter than usual in and around Georgetown with fewer commuters at mini-bus and car parks but more people began turning up at the parks in the afternoon.

Banks and Government Ministries and agencies were open for business.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said a survey conducted in Regions Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), Four (Demerara/Mahaica), and Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) and Georgetown, showed several business places did not heed the call.

It said hundreds of employees of some business places turned out to work, especially on Regent Street, but were locked out.

GINA said that from data gathered, the largest number of businesses closed was on Regent Street, and equal numbers were open and closed on Main Street.

"However, the business places in New Amsterdam showed that 31 per cent of the businesses did not support the call.

"...38 per cent of the businesses on the East Bank Demerara were open for business", the agency said.

It said that of 378 business places surveyed, 275 were closed and 103 open.

"In general, just under a third of the business enterprises rejected the call for a shutdown", GINA said.

It reported that public service employees had a 100 per cent attendance at work yesterday.

The Chronicle understands that most of the vendors in the Stabroek Market are from the outlying areas and were probably worried to travel for fear of not getting transportation to get back home.

However, the greens section and other stalls outside the market were open for business.

Similarly, stalls in Bourda Market were shut tight save for a few as well as those operating outside the market.

The Regent Street entrances were closed and an official of the Mayor and City Council explained that the gates were open earlier but a decision was taken to close them since 95% of the stalls were closed.

Several food outlets in Georgetown were also closed, including some Chinese restaurants and the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlets.

In one of its many full-page advertisements in the Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, the group said the shutdown campaign was in response to the failure of the political leadership to address the most pressing problem in the society today - the safety and security of the citizens.