Reflections on Giftland Mall

Dear Editor,

The long anticipated Giftland Mall has finally opened for business, and without a doubt is indeed a fine specimen of Guyanese entrepreneurship. I like many Guyanese, paid a visit to the facility last Saturday evening, primarily for the purpose of satisfying my own curiosity. I could not help noticing the shuttle service which had a ‘blow away’ effect on visitors; most felt that the hospitality was just awesome!

During my stay which lasted for about an hour, I made the point of first comparing the facility with similar facilities internationally for benchmarking purposes; and it did compare favourably, albeit on a smaller scale.

While trying to identify where to locate some vital services should there be an emergency which required mass evacuation, it soon occurred to me that the observation made by columnist Freddie Kissoon with respect to the access road to the mall, held a lot more relevance than originally intended. Since all streets in Guyana have to be gazetted, is this street a private or a public street? Who will maintain this street in the future? These questions must be answered as they could have serious implications later.

Malls are often protected by using processes similar to those used for protecting airports. Immediately after my arrival, it seemed to me that the mall’s staff was overwhelmed by the size of the Giftland edifice. Further observation revealed that, at least at the time, there were too few security persons deployed around the mall, especially in the area of the washrooms. I could not identify one single CCTV camera, and failed to obtain information about who to contact in case of an emergency. These and other such matters should have been adequately addressed by a policy and procedure manual which would provide guidance on which policy would assume ascendancy over others, and under what conditions.

Is there a liaison officer to interact with the police in times of emergency? This is an absolute necessity as securing the Giftland Mall isn’t strictly an internal function. The safety and security department has to create and maintain a solid relationship with the national security apparatus.

At the time of my visit, the security force both contracted and internal appeared not to be quite au fait with the structural nuances of the facility, but they need to be made aware of every nook and cranny if they are to function effectively. In sum, the thing I disliked the most about the Giftland Mall is the shiny tiles; I feel far too many Guyanese retail facilities use high gloss tiles which afford poor traction and can result in slips and falls.

Finally, if the Giftland Mall is to properly protect its assets, patrons and reputation from the myriad threats which abound, then it needs to establish a professional safety and security department soonest. A good starting point would be to recruit persons with experience in aviation security.

Yours faithfully.

Clairmont Featherstone