President and Commander-in-Chief David Granger yesterday announced the return of a fixed annual State subvention for the Guyana Veterans’ Legion.
GINA said that this announcement was received with loud applause from a packed room of mainly ex-servicemen and women at the traditional Remembrance Day reception organised by the Legion, at Coghlan House on Carifesta Avenue.
Several cheques were handed over to the organisation including promised unpaid subventions in the sum of $1.5M, a contribution of $300,000 from the Office of the Prime Minister, $1M from President Granger as patron of the Guyana Veterans’ Legion, $1M for the repair and maintenance of Coghlan House and $1M for the National Veterans’ Rest Home in Lamaha Springs.
“We do not see this as a reward for past services. We see it as an investment in the future, so that young entrants in the Defence Force must know that they can look forward to a comfortable and dignified retirement,” the President said.
GINA said that the President also outlined several initiatives, which his Government will be taking to ensure that veterans are given their due. This includes the convening of the National Veterans’ Commission on November 21. This Commission will be mandated to examine the conditions under which veterans are living and working and making recommendations for improvements.
A Veterans’ Trust will be created to raise funds for the continuing education, training and resettlement of veterans following retirement. It will also seek to procure for veterans land for housing and agricultural purposes.
The Veterans’ Department, which has already been established at Base Camp Ayanganna, will be equipped to ensure that veterans and their families receive their entitlements from the State in a timely fashion, GINA added. All of these entitlements and benefits will be consolidated with the passage of comprehensive legislation.
GINA reported President of the Guyana Veterans’ Legion, Lt. Col. (ret’d), George Gomes as saying that the greatest service a person can give to their country is to serve in its military. He said that as the aging process begins to take its toll on surviving veterans, there is need for institutionalised veteran care.
