President Ali broadens Guyana Defence Force’s mandate

– to use assets for forest monitoring & emergency services

President Dr Irfaan Ali has contended that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) must increase the utilisation of its various assets, to the betterment of the organisation and the country.
One way in which he proposed that the GDF further cement its position in society is by publishing intellectual pieces that would be held in high regard at institutions like the University of the West Indies (UWI).
In outlining his vision for a modern Defence Force, Ali asserted that the GDF has to broaden its role in society, and be more proactive on national issues. In this regard, he contended that the GDF must develop strategies in relation to the food and energy crises affecting the world.
“If, for example, there is a crisis in the supply of fuel, and we don’t have fuel for a period of three-four days, we know the consequences of that. We must not be reacting, because we (would have) identified that as a challenge now. That energy crisis is a challenge, and how do we address this crisis and how we prepare for this crisis?”
The President highlighted that the GDF has some of the most highly educated persons in the region, and he noted that this asset must be fully deployed to the country and organisation’s advantage.
“Per capita, in the military, our Defence Force has the highest level of educational accomplishments, easy…and that is something that we have to deploy to our use.”
In this regard, the President contended that, “This Guyana Defence Force must be putting out position papers and policy documents, and studying intellectual pieces on defence and security in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“You have the wherewithal to analyze situations. At the end of the Officers Conference, you must be able to analyze the regional security threats and challenges, and put out a paper that other Defence Forces can review and study…it can be used in the University of the West Indies and…in the University of Guyana…that is what is going to set us apart from the rest.”

Forest monitoring
The Head of State said another way which the GDF can expand its capacity and better capitalise on its assets is by having the Air Corps conduct forest monitoring activities.
“The monitoring of our forest is part of our defence challenge, because it is an important national asset, earning revenue. If that is the case, then those working in the Air Corps should find it important and necessary to capture activities, events and circumstances in their flight that must attract the attention of policymakers…but it requires a sense of awareness and a sense of understanding what your larger role (is), and how that larger role fits in…because we can’t have an asset flying every day and only moving people and moving equipment.
“There’s many other things that that asset can bring into us, from a security and development perspective, that we are not capitalising on.”

Emergency services
In further elaborating on the need for the GDF to be more proactive, the Head of State pointed out that the army already has the equipment, vessels, and personnel that are trained in the provision of emergency services, such as search-and-rescue operations and disaster response and medical emergencies.
Moreover, President Ali called for the GDF to play a role in the development of emergency mapping services.
“In every region, I am tired with the fire tender turn up and they don’t know where the drain is, they don’t know where the trenches are… Is there a cluster map? How do we develop a cluster map for every region, and then a cluster map for different communities?” he asked.
“For example, Grove-Diamond is a massive urban settlement, where is the cluster map that points out exactly where a trench is, where a drain is, where water source is? And then where is there a water source that we can keep all the time, that we can just go to and use and we mark it off?” he asked.
“We have to develop what we call emergency mapping services for our country…
The President has said the GDF can work along with other agencies, such as the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), or even the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), “to have a full understanding of what they’re doing, and develop strategy maps”.
“The Guyana Defence Force must know where assets are; where the national assets are…and not, in a case of emergency, we’re looking to see who has a ladder and who has a hammer…” (G11)