JULY 1 is fast approaching. That is the deadline given by the United States to ports in the region to improve their facilities, largely to combat drug smuggling. Within recent times exporters have been attempting to ship drugs to North America using a variety of means, not least among them, containers of goods destined for legitimate locations.

Guyana has not been excluded. If one were to take recent developments, one would conclude that Guyana is a major transshipment point for drugs destined for that part of the world.

We have been using our ports for a long time. On one occasion, some people attempted to ship some 5,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in false panels of a container. The shippers were held but for the lack of evidence, they were spared a jail term.

The most glaring case of a drug shipment from a port in Georgetown involved a shipment of lumber to London aboard an ocean-going vessel to a port named Felixstowe. The federal authorities must have had a tip because they allowed the container to land, waited until some people tried to uplift the illegal contents, then pounced.

In another case, this time to the United States, a prominent cyclist attempted to uplift a quantity of cocaine that had been shipped from a port in Guyana and was nabbed. Again the authorities had monitored the container from the time it left Georgetown.

But then again, they need not have monitored the container out of Port Georgetown. There is now a piece of scanning equipment that can see into containers. It is designed to detect the density of cocaine or anything that has a similar density. Once that is determined the container would be subjected to a thorough search.

They have not imposed such a standard on Guyana at this time. All they have asked is that people entering the wharf area be duly documented and issued with the relevant passes. They have also dictated that the wharf area be surrounded by a fence at least 10 feet high.

Of the 25 wharves from which cargo is shipped to the international market, 18 have satisfied the preliminary requirements. And it was necessary that this be the case because according to the Americans, once a port fails to reach the basic minimum standard for security then ships out of North America would not be allowed to land there. And if they did then they would not be allowed to land at North American ports.

Similarly, ships leaving such a poorly secure port would not be allowed to land in North America. That has serious implications for Guyana. It could see the inability of local importers to access goods necessary for the local market.

Needless to say, when the deadline was set, the local authorities were mum. Some were worried, and with good reason.

However, the ports, most of which are privately owned, know that if they were to continue in existence they had to spend money. And they did. The wharf operated by the Guyana National Industrial Company would begin testing its enhanced facility today. Some of the others would put their systems into operation before the deadline. Seven of them would be virtually closed to international shipping.

In the long run, the Americans would like to see security cameras at each wharf and this is to be in place as the upgrade continues. Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon actually said that the government is preparing to move in this direction. Already the Cheddi Jagan International Airport boasts security cameras, the feed from which is being monitored at locations in the city. This is to ensure that there is no skullduggery at any one location. The scanner for the containers is not yet a reality. They cost US$5 million each. Jamaica recently bought five. The wharf owners in Guyana certainly cannot afford such expenditure at this time. But some time soon they would have to invest in this piece of equipment.

There was the idea that they pool their resources to buy one and share it. But the view that the movement could damage the equipment foiled any such attempt.

Whatever the case, the country should blame the drug traffickers for creating the condition that warrants what is really an unnecessary expenditure by the people who operate the wharves.