– where corruption is ‘unbelievable’
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Disciplined Forces, yesterday called for more Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers to be part of the safe craft partnership, under which officers are seconded to lend much-needed support to the Public Sector.
Noting that there is now a demand for GDF officers in some of the agencies, including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) where, according to him, “the corruption in the field is unbelievable, ” particularly with the high price being paid for gold currently, President Jagdeo said:
“I need to clean-up some of this situation there too; there are some other agencies where I need strengthening and focus, we need soldiers to go there.”
And stressing the need for more disciplined officers in the public sector, the President said the demand would be greater, if the search for power and gas is fruitful.
President Jagdeo, who was addressing senior and junior officers of the GDF at their Annual Officers’ conference, held under the theme ‘Re-Engineering to Enhance National Defence and Security’, assured that the government will continue to capitalize the Army.
He also set the tone for the two days of deliberations by outlining several  key areas on which the discussion by the officers could focus, such as new short and long-term global challenges, and how they would affect Guyana both in the near term and the future; challenges Guyana would face for crafting an economic strategy for the future, taking into account that the economy supports and creates the revenue for other improvement; elements of the future strategy and identifying those defined as key elements of the future strategy; pre-requisites for implementation for a country that is stable, politically, in law and order and secure within its borders.
Other areas of focus are how the army can play an increasing role as stewards of Guyana’s natural resources to ensure they are further utilized; how the infrastructure, in particular ICT, could influence the Army to conduct its duties in an improved way; the issue of public accountability in particular, efficiency in the GDF and how it could be sustained and become part of the culture of the institution and how Guyana can play an increasingly greater role in regional affairs.
Noting the several areas, such as efficiency, budgeting and the standing orders of the Army where it has made progress over the year in review, as alluded to by Chief-of-Staff (COS), Commodore Gary Best, in his opening remarks, President Jagdeo congratulated them on the achievement.
And, in assuring of the government’s continued capitalization of the Army and reminding that progress has been made every year, the Commander-in-Chief suggested that as an assignment, the officers should peruse the growth in expenditure for the GDF over the past 10 years.
He said though that with capitalization and re-capitalization, which will be needed in some cases, it is expected that it will be done within the confines of fiscal sustainability.
On this note, the President made mention of a serious attempt made by the GDF to harness this.
Commodore Best, in his remarks, made mention of the Army completing an overhaul of all of its security standing orders, and said the Force’s standing orders in relation to operations, logistics and finance would also be fully updated.
The GDF also has, for the first time in several years, made no requests for supplementary funding for ration.
“We are now purchasing smarter, eating sensibly, and preparing healthier foods to reduce waste and save dollars,” the COS told those present, which also included Prime Minister Sam Hinds; Minister of Home affairs Clement Rohee; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; and heads of sister agencies of the disciplined services.
Commodore Best noted too, that as part of the preparations for general elections expected to be held this year, joint training involving all the disciplined services will be pursued through the Inter-Services School for International Security Services.
He assured those present that the GDF remains committed to working with other services in the fight against crime and violence.