While laying out his administration’s new defence thrust, President Irfaan Ali yesterday emphasised the importance of taking care of the wellbeing of each soldier and announced that in addition to scholarships, affordable housing would be made available and 150 pre-qualified soldiers would be benefitting soon.
“I am pleased to say to you that we have already communicated to the Chief of Staff to have the first 150 officers and ranks pre-qualified with the banks [for] not only house lots but housing facilities,” President Ali said in his maiden address to the force’s annual officer’s conference, where he highlighted the need for the operations of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to become more community-based.
It was the only part of his speech that elicited a round of applause from the officers present at the National Cultural Centre, where the two-day conference was opened under the theme ‘Enhancing National Security and Development through Capacity Building, Empowering and Strengthening Community Policies’.
“A grateful nation takes care of those who are prepared to lay down their lives to protect our motherland. No soldier must live in want and destitution,” the Head of State said.
The well-being focus is one of the four pillars of the Ali administration’s new defence policy approach that focuses on the individual, the institution, fortification of national security through the pursuit of a foreign policy which focuses on respect for international law and the protection of the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, and national integration.
“We desire a highly motivated cadre of officers and sub-ordinate ranks. Whenever ranks have to worry about their well-being and that of their families, it subtracts from the dedication to the job,” he said.
As a result the new policy will be aimed at improving the well-being of members of the force and that of their family members and Ali noted that he has already committed to providing more scholarships and training opportunities for ranks, thereby equipping them with skills which they can use after their service.
As part of the administration’s focus on the individual, he mentioned a special housing programme for soldiers that would be administered from Camp Ayangana even as soldiers and their families would benefit from improved health services.
Addressing the institution, he said the force would be strengthened to better execute its mandate. This would include continued recapitalisation that would see the acquisition of equipment and marine vessels which would allow it to improve surveillance of the country’s territory.
“And a stronger force does not mean a larger force but rather a smarter force with emphasis on increased use of technology and intelligence so that they would know what is occurring on the borders and territorial sea and exclusive economic zone,” he said.
“We would be enhancing the capabilities of the force to respond to threats to our territory and to our people, including responses to emergencies and natural disasters,” he added.
‘No pawn’
The third pillar of the policy is the fortification of national security through the pursuit of a foreign policy which focuses on respect for international law and the protection of the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty. He again alluded to his earlier statements that diplomacy would always be Guyana’s first reaction to any international threat as it seeks a peaceful resolution. He said Guyana would forge cooperation with militaries from friendly states in enhancing the capacity of its armed forces.
“Guyana would be no pawn or puppet of any foreign power. No foreign power would establish a presence that we Guyana and the Guyana Defence Force did not request,” the president stressed, while adding that the country will exercise its sovereign right to choose its friends and to “enter into agreements which would enhance the defence force’s capability and our people’s development”.
Only recently Guyana was forced to scrap a surprise move to allow Taiwan to set up an office here. The announcement of the agreement was made by the United States government via a tweet but hours later the deal was scrapped. The move was a surprise as Guyana has historically upheld the One China policy, which precludes relations with Taiwan.
Addressing national integration, Ali said it will involve a more pronounced identification with communities as the force’s mandate is to serve the people.
“The Guyana Defence Force would effectively execute its mandate as a national force only to the extent that it enjoys such support and confidence,” he said.
“Guyana’s new national defence policy is also predicated on a commitment to fraternal and peaceful relations with other states. We are keen on promoting good neighbourly relations. Guyana has no expansionist ambition, we covet no one’s territory or resources. Our defence policy would be guided by a desire for peace in pursuit of protecting our national patrimony…,” the Head of State said.
However, he said while the country is a peaceful state, no one should underestimate its resolve to protect its territory and safeguard its national sovereignty.
“Let not our peaceful intent be mistaken for weakness…,” he warned.
Only recently the country has had to deal with the Venezuelan military detaining Guyanese-owned fishing vessels and their crew members who had been operating in Guyana’s waters. The men and the boat remained in custody for days before being released following mounting pressure on the Nicolás Maduro administration. The Head of State said Guyana remains grateful for the international support during the process.
Worrisome
Meanwhile, acting Chief of Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess, himself in his maiden address to the conference, said that as the force works towards the general reorganisation and retooling it must be cognisant that the possibility of internal threats continues to exist while external threats have taken on “what could be described as worrisome proportions” as he referred to the recent detention of the fisher folk by the Venezuelan military.
He announced for 2021 there would be an increase in the number of patrols and surveillance so that they can “dominate more of our land, air and sea spaces, in particular our Exclusive Economic Zone, the rugged terrain of our hinterlands and our porous borders”.
He said the force stands steadfast in its commitment to policies and programmes at all levels and will not be distracted from its tasks and commitment on the internal or external fronts.
“We also have significant challenges with new and emerging and transnational threats as we combat booming narco-trafficking and associated activities, trafficking in persons (TIP), continuous illegal crossings at our borders, migration crises, and we have also seen the discovery of illegal airstrips in our territory,” Brigadier Bess said.
