City Constabulary recovers Non-Aligned Monument busts
…perpetrator of unsound mind
Kaieteur News
January 20, 2007
Three of the busts that were vandalised at the Non-Aligned Monument in the Company Path Garden , Avenue of the Republic, on January 18, have been recovered through the vigilant efforts of the City Constabulary.
The busts are in the possession of the City Council and will be restored to their original positions with the aid of the National Trust.
The perpetrator, who is believed to be of unsound mind, was also detained.
The Chief Constable and the Town Clerk are considering raising the fence surrounding the Company Path Garden to prevent easy access by vagrants.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Keith Booker, noted that the ministry commends the quick response of the City Constabulary in recovering the busts.
The monument commemorates the 1972 Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned countries when it was held in Guyana in August that year.
It was symbolically unveiled by President Mr. Arthur Chung, the first President of Guyana, in honour of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement President, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt ; President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana ; President Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of India ; and President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia .
The problem of vagrancy has for years engaged the attention of the Ministries of Health, Home Affairs and Human Services and Social Security and a $400M facility is in the pipeline for establishment for a home for the homeless.
The Ministry of Health will also be playing its part in reducing the incidences of vagrancy by embarking on a campaign of removing them from the street, carrying out medical evaluations and ensuring that they do not return to vagrancy.
According to Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, the treatment will be provided at the Mental Health Clinic of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation or the National Psychiatric Hospital .
Now that the Human Services Ministry has expanded the service at the Night Shelter to 24 hours a day, the Ministry of Health will be referring patients to this institution regularly.
A National Mental Health Strategy, which has been in the making for some time, and which the Ministry of Health has been working quietly on, has been completed. It will address mental health issues such as substance abuse, depression and eating disorders. An integral part of the plan is advocating recognition of mental health as an illness faced by all age groups. (GINA)