Army to get $545M capital injection Aircraft, high-seas boat targeted By Gitanjali Singh Stabroek News November 4, 2000 The government yesterday announced a US$2.9M ($545M) short-term plan to "recapitalise" the army which includes sourcing a new aircraft for the air corps and a high-seas patrol boat for the marine wing. The long-awaited announcement came months after border difficulties with Guyana's neighbours, especially Suriname whose gunboats evicted an oil rig hired by the Canadian company CGX from Guyana's waters on June 3rd and later chased a passenger boat onto the shores of Scottsburg on the Corentyne. Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon, yesterday said $325M will be provided to supplement the Guyana Defence Force's (GDF) budget this year and a further $220 million added to its budgetary programme for next year. These sums, Luncheon said, exclude bilateral engagements by the government to procure equipment and other resources for the military in the short term (2000/1). Sources say that more equipment could become available once the government concludes the so-called `Shiprider Agreement' with the United States to allow anti-drug operations in Guyana's waters. Funds, Luncheon said, have already been expended on both the air corps and the coast guard in an initial implementation of the capitalisation process which was promised by President Bharrat Jagdeo. Monies are being spent to restore before the end of the year the unserviceable fleet of aircraft the army presides over and to address the issue of an additional aircraft for the military. In the case of the coast guard, a small portion of the resources will go towards rehabilitating the coast guard wharf at Ruimveldt, East Bank but the bulk of the resources, Luncheon said, will go to purchase or lease a vessel for fisheries surveillance in Guyana's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and for other military activity. Numerous calls have been made in the past for the government to beef up patrols in the EEZ as fishing boats have been pillaging the country's fish stocks. At the moment, it depends on a privately owned boat to intermittently patrol this zone. Luncheon indicated that a properly designed and specific naval vessel will be procured for the sector with the 2001 resources. The intention, Luncheon said, is to acquire proper military sea vessels for the army to discharge its responsibilities. Analysts have pointed out that Paramaribo's naval capacity is far ahead of Guyana's and it has at least seven fast patrol boats of the type that the army needs. Suriname has used these boats to aggressively patrol the Corentyne River which it claims. Luncheon also produced a chart showing capital and current expenditure as well as the total outlay for the Guyana Defence force for the period 1990-2000. But while total expenditure on the army moved from $185.5M in 1990 to $2.4 billion this year, capital expenditure moved from $300,000 to $447M only. Expressed in US dollars for the period using the average exchange rate for the various years, capital expenditure in the army ranged from US$7,000 to US$600,000 between 1990-1999 and moved to US$2.4M (budgeted) this year. For the period 1990-99, capital expenditure was US$7,589, US$6,261, US$55,959, US$84,511, US365,333, US$62,900, US$481,726, US$602,978 and US$63,266. Without the additional injection announced yesterday, the 2000 capital expenditure by the army would have also been just over US$600,000. Asked whether the government felt that a $545M injection in the short term was adequate given the opportunity cost of losing investments such as CGX's, Luncheon said he does not accept the linkage that capitalisation of the army has anything to do with losing investments. It was pointed out that it was the border dispute which led to CGX being forced out of Guyana's waters and if the army was fully capitalised, Suriname would hardly have risked what it did. However, Luncheon said that full capitalisation of the army may never be attained and what has been announced is taking into consideration what can be provided at this time given the threat analysis. He said the $545M goes a far way in fulfilling the commitment made by President Jagdeo to seek to meet some of the army's needs. He does not see the eviction of the CGX oil rig as "the" catalyst that has caused the government to act at this point in time to inject more resources for the army's capital expenditure. He said it was among the considerations but not the main reason. Prior to this capital subvention, the government had said repeatedly that spending on the army had to be considered in the context of the other pressing spending priorities. Luncheon also boasted that his government has increased budgetary allocations for the army significantly. He said the government is continuing to pursue bilateral possibilities to further enhance the capabilities of the army. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today