Guyana will maintain `strong diplomatic offensive'
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Guyana will maintain `strong diplomatic offensive'
- President
Guyana Chronicle
May 6, 2000
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday declared that Guyana will maintain a "strong diplomatic offensive" and will be prepared, at the military level, to protect its borders.
He said this country is working on the "diplomatic front" to deal with some of the existing border issues.
"You can rest assured that we will continue to have a strong diplomatic offensive to preserve the safety of our borders, in addition to preparing ourselves at the military level," the President told Army officers and senior law enforcement officials at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) annual officers conference.
The meeting was held at Camp Ayanganna, Thomas Lands, Georgetown.
President Jagdeo, highlighting recent decisions taken to assist the GDF, said overtime allowances will now be paid to officers and ranks of the Army; a contribution of $1M has been given to boost its housing programme; access will be given to GDF officers and other joint service officers to get duty-free concessions when purchasing 4x4 vehicles. The Army is also slated to receive $4M for its sports department.
On the issue of overall funding for GDF, the Head of State said the Government has to defer cash to other sectors since the "larger threat to the country" is not thought of as being imminent.
"Sometimes the threat is invisible. It lurks at the borders of our country...even within our society in the form of crimes and civil disorder," the President said.
The task at hand, he stressed, is to make the wider society more aware of these "threats" that exist in the country and how they can affect persons in general.
President Jagdeo said the Government has increased resources for the military and Police, but although the capital budget has been growing, it is still not in conformity with all the requirements of a properly equipped army.
"We have to seek help in this regard to make sure that we have a properly funded and well-prepared army," he stated, noting that multilateral institutions which often provide debt relief and funding for countries like ours, also have "conditionalities" relating to military expenditure. (Sharon Lall)
