The opposition last evening approved a motion for the establishment of a National Veterans Com-mission, while government withheld support and its members said that it has been doing everything possible to improve the lives of those who have served in the disciplined forces.
“We in the government see little to be gained and we see a certain danger that the inevitable focus of attention, time and resources to this commission would detract from the necessary focus on growing our economy and earning profits and money lawfully,” Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said moments before members of the government refused to vote on the motion brought by Opposition Leader David Granger.
After just over two hours of debate, the opposition passed the motion using their majority vote.
After the voting, Speaker Raphael Trotman said he and the Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs will have to examine the resolution to see how it can be given effect to “because it does call on the National Assembly to take certain action.”
In an invited comment, Trotman told Stabroek News that the resolution of the motion calls on the National Assembly to establish the commission. “I have to speak with the clerk to see how it could be legally possible. It would be our duty to give effect to the resolution provided that we are legally authorised to do so,” he said. Trotman also stressed that the situation demonstrates the importance of the National Assembly having its own legal officer.
Granger, a retired Brigadier, said the establishment of the commission would examine the conditions and circumstances facing the veterans of the defence force and the disciplined services, make recommendations to ensure their health and welfare and for the general administration of veterans’ affairs in Guyana.
He also noted that throughout the world the defence and security forces enjoy a special position and veterans are honoured. The state pursues young and fit persons in society and many young people are attracted to the military and the disciplined services, he said, while adding that the state has the responsibility when “they are no longer young and fit, that is when they are aging and sometimes disabled.”
According to Granger, the motion was brought to ensure that persons who have given their youth to the service of the state are not forgotten when they grow old. He reminded the National Assembly that the call for such a commission was nothing new, while also pointing out that already there are several non-governmental organisations which provide relief to veterans, including the Guyana Legion. But because these organisations were not sometimes working together, he said the idea of setting up a Commission was pursued in order to combine their efforts and bring the greatest amount of benefit to the veterans.
Granger said that among the persons he met with about the idea were the late president Janet Jagan—at that time she was a prime minister—former president Bharrat Jagdeo in 2000 and Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon.
He said he is proposing that the conditions under which veterans are forced to live and work after they lived their various disciplines are examined. He said that over the years thousands of persons have passed through the forces and there is still need for persons to enter these forces. “It is our view that young people who wish to enter… would be more attracted if they felt that at the end of their service they would be treated with respect and dignity,” Granger said to sounds of support from fellow opposition members.
According to Granger, the first step would be to decide through the commission what the national policy would be for the administration of veterans, followed by the establishment of a commission to investigate their circumstances and then the enactment of a Veterans Act so that young people would know what to expect.
He reminded the House of a promise made by late President Forbes Burnham of 10 hectares of land to a veteran providing that he or she had served honourably. Granger said that when people are called upon to retire—and in the case of the Guyana Defence Force at age 40—they are forced to compete in the job market with persons half their age. In this respect, he said that there is need to examine the type of education that must be given to persons leaving the disciplined services and the military forces.
He called on all members of the House to approach the debate on the issue with “seriousness.” “If we want to make sure that our country remains safe we must be able to attract young people to come in and serve and the best attraction is to assure them that once they serve they will be respected at the end of that service,” he argued.
What really matters
Hinds said that since government took office it has “consistently undertaken to support the welfare of the veterans of the disciplined forces of Guyana” through administrative, financial, parliamentary and constitutional measures.
He noted that the basis of the welfare of veterans begins with the conditions of service. He said the first major intervention occurred in 1994 and this saw the consolidation of the service conditions of the four disciplined forces. He also said there have been salary increases, “many times what they were in 1992,” as well as increased allowances. These increases in salaries, he explained, automatically translate into benefits. With a steady growth in the economy, he added, joint services members have been receiving regular, annual increases which translate into benefits for veterans. “This government has been doing a lot and has done a lot to improve health services in Guyana,” and this would also benefit veterans,” he also said.
During Hinds’ presentation, the Speaker was forced to call for order after the opposition erupted into raucous heckling that was so loud the Prime Minister could hardly be heard. The Speaker made the point that when the Opposition Leader spoke, he was heard without interruption.
Hinds later stated that government has implemented programmes, particularly within the Guyana Defence Force, to address the education issues raised by Granger. He said soldiers are sent on remedial academic programmes so as to allow them to better serve and to be better citizens when they leave. While these programmes are done at the foundation level, he added, there are five other levels which eventually allow them to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams. Assessments are done to determine which level of the programme ranks can join and those who have the ability go on to external institutions, he added.
Hinds said members of the disciplined services now enjoy secure pensions. He also said government is also working to put a system in place to allow disciplined services members to secure places in the public service.
He stressed that government believes that there are many formal and informal opportunities for Granger to express his concerns without the establishment of a commission. He said government could not support the motion because “it believes and as I have been arguing we have been doing what really matters. We have been improving people’s lives; the lives of the veterans, in particular, and the lives of serving members of our disciplined services. We rest our case.”
APNU Shadow Home Affairs Minister Winston Felix said experience has shown that young people at the age of 18 years are recruited into the disciplined services and sacrifice their youth for the service of national security.
He said that in the midst of this service, they meet unfortunate circumstances. Among the cases he cited is that of a policeman who was shot on Croal Street and is now blind and the female prison officer who is now bedridden after she was shot during the 2002 Mash Day jail break. He said some are killed, as seen in the crime spree following the jailbreak, when policemen were among the first people killed.
Felix, a retired police commissioner, said that if the servicemen and women withdraw from the force, even if it is after serving 20 years, they have nothing to get. He added that if they are injured and are of pensionable service they may be able to withdraw on medical grounds after appearing before the medical board. If that permission is granted, he said, they may be awarded pension and gratuity.
Those with less than 10 years but more than two years’ service would receive a gratuity but no pension, he added.
As regards death, he said this had to be reviewed in 1994 by the government and the situation was later improved to where the beneficiary is awarded $1 million, which remains the case today. But “it does not take them too far. Many return within a year or two to say that the money exhausted,” he added.
Felix noted that in the army there is no scheme to prepare members to retire and so they have to return to civilian life with job experience that is “irrelevant to the employment market. With a small pension they must accept menial jobs with poor pay.”
The motion, he said, pointed to Article 24 of the Constitution, which declares that every citizen has the right to free medical attention and to social care in the case of old age and disability. “Our contention is that this declaration must be satisfied by the state,” Felix said. “The government should, in these unfortunate circumstances, stretch forth its benevolent hands to lighten the suffering of the poorly paid former servicemen,” he said, while pointing out that countries in the Caribbean have systems in place for their veterans.
Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser on Empowerment Odinga Lumumba expressed pleasure that the subject was bought to the National Assembly, pointing out that government should support veterans because they are “nationals” and “patriots.”
At the same time, he said one must remember that while Granger wants to ensure that the issue is dealt with, there are still some “damages” that have to first be addressed. He noted that while he shared the concerns about the widows and the children of veterans, there were also families who were affected and lost loved ones as a result of the “political intervention that was directed by the military.”
“I am happy to know that this army that we have today is an army that is professional and we would like to take credit for ensuring that this army is professional,” he said, triggering loud muttering from the opposition members.
Meanwhile, AFC MP Cathy Hughes spoke in support of the motion on behalf of her party and she highlighted the “fearless women” who made it their duty to serve. She singled out Clarissa Riehl, who was not allowed to take up a military career as at the time Guyana was under British rule and was not enlisting non-Britons. This changed after independence as she was then allowed to enlist in the newly formed Guyana Defence Force in 1966. She later went on to become one of four women who became ranked officers in the army. Hughes also mentioned Beverly Somerset, who retired as a training staff sergeant.
History, she said had many stories of bravery and of women who have successfully competed and conquered in what is often regarded as a man’s world. At the same time, she said that, sometimes, veterans find themselves unemployed and it is hard for them to compete in the non-military world that they are forced to go and find work in.