President Irfaan Ali Wednesday said Guyana must never be found wanting as it relates to the security of the state, urging the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to always be ready to respond to security challenges.
“Guyana must never be found wanting when it comes to addressing security threats whether emanating from within or outside our borders. I refer not only to what is termed the hardcore threats and challenge but all threats and challenge,” Ali said as he addressed the annual GDF officers’ conference.
He told the conference Guyana must take stock of security threats in other countries and prepare itself, noting that as an oil producing country, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country could attract some of those threats.
President Ali said in addition to security challenges, the GDF also has a responsibility to rise to the challenge and deliberate on how it will address issues such as food and energy crisis not only in Guyana but in the region so it will also be in a state of readiness to respond.
Ali said to get the GDF to where it needs to be, continuous training is necessary, and his administration already plans to review the officer’s attaché deployment to embassies and high commissions saying the country must be well represented.
He said also training for officers along the country’s borders is necessary, not only for their own edification, but for them to educate citizens within their jurisdiction so they too can have a solid understanding of the country’s security challenges.
He told the conference that the government will be making resources available to the GDF to boost its infrastructural capacity to respond to challenges.
“We are expanding the capacity of the Guyana Defence Force to better discharge its functions and to be responsible for the variation and complexity of challenges facing the state,” Ali said, noted the importance of the annual officers’ conference.
He said the GDF would have to weed out those “bad apples” and the ones who don’t give a damn about the work in the force, while challenging the officers to be leaders across the Caribbean in their field and also told them that they should complete studies and research that could aid in the Force’s development.
Meanwhile, outgoing GDF Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess, has assured that the force is on high alert to respond to the country’s territorial challenges including monitoring the borders with Venezuela.
“We remain deployed on our borders 365 days every year as we seek to defend the territorial integrity of Guyana. Further, we continue to keenly monitor the judicial process at the International Court of our long-standing border dispute with Venezuela.
CMC/
