-Modern security framework needed for Guyana’s development, President says upon receipt of Bell helicopter

AS Guyana forges ahead on its development path, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and President of Guyana Dr. Irfaan Ali has posited that a modern, forward-looking security architecture is necessary to safeguard national security and protect against new threats that may arise with the country’s development.

On Saturday afternoon, the President was present at the formal arrival of the Bell 412 EPI helicopter at the Base Camp Ayanganna Sports Ground, Thomas Lands, Georgetown. He was joined by Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips; Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh; National Security adviser to the President, Gerry Gouveia and United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch.

Last December, $412 million was approved by the National Assembly to facilitate advance payments on the acquisition of the helicopter. This helicopter was procured as part of efforts to enhance the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) aerial capacity.

“We’ve been investing continuously in the training, upgrading and development of our human assets and with this acquisition, comes a new era of training and an upgraded era of development,” President Ali said, while delivering brief remarks at the Base Camp.

Furthermore, he emphasised that the government has placed a concerted focus on upgrading our human resources to take care of these assets and to ensure that Guyana moves towards a modern pool of capital acquisitions, geared at improving the country’s efficiency and enhancing national security.

In addition to acquisition of the helicopter, the President noted that on Monday a team will leave to inspect the performance of the ‘metal shark’ vessels in Guyana’s waters. Following that inspection, the country’s marine assets will be analysed as a prerequisite for the acquisition of new marine assets to support the work of the Coast Guard. The Commander-in-Chief posited: “This is the beginning of a new trend, before we get to the end of this year, you will see new assets acquired for our Coast Guard.

“We have to analyse the new requirements of our security sector based on our development path. Indeed, we have a lot more economic assets to protect; we will have a larger economy, we will have more sophisticated types of criminal activities to deal with and all of this requires a modern, forward-looking security architecture and that is what we are building.”

Beyond the acquisition of new assets for the security forces, the President reasoned that the defence architecture has to be supported by enhanced diplomatic efforts accompanied by stronger, trusted partnerships. He also acknowledged that the force faced many criticisms when a boat was discovered in Guyana Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). He was referencing the boat containing bodies, which was discovered floating offshore Guyana, but which the local authorities later lost sight of.

“Our constraints must be understood by the population then they will have a greater appreciation for the acquisition of these assets,” the President said, as he called upon Guyanese to continue to support the work of the GDF. He also called upon Guyana to work together to keep the country safe.

Meanwhile, the GDF’s Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Godfrey Bess highlighted that acquisition of the medium-lift helicopter is a signal moment for Guyana, particularly amid efforts to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity from unfounded claims.

This BELL helicopter is a dual-use utility helicopter well adapted for operations in harsh environments, including high temperatures and high intensity. This, according to GDF’s Lieutenant-Colonel-in-charge of Flight Operations, Mohinder Ramjag, makes it useful in hinterland regions.

Additionally, Lieutenant-Colonel Courtney Byrne, who was part of the team that travelled to the United States to inspect the helicopter, said that the aircraft is equipped with a door-rescue hoist and provisions for tactical missions. He also noted that the aircraft has the capacity to aid offshore operations, VIP and VVIP transport and insertion and extraction of troops.

In addition to officer Byrne, Lieutenant-Colonel Anson Weekes, Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Charles and Engineer Terrence Holder travelled to the U.S. to inspect the aircraft and bring it back to Guyana. On their travels back, they were accompanied by Captain Alan Niesen, the BELL-designated ferry pilot.