A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) leader David Granger moved a motion for the establishment of a National Veterans’ Commission, when Parliament reconvened on Wednesday.
According to the motion on the Order Paper for Wednesday, the commission seeks to examine the conditions and circumstances facing veterans of the defence and disciplined services, and to make recommendations for their health and welfare.
Granger’s motion is in accordance with Article 24 of the Constitution, which prescribes that “every citizen has the right to free medical attention and also to social care in case of old age and disability”.
It is also in keeping with Article 197 A (five) of the Constitution, which allows for disciplined forces commissions to be constituted by the National Assembly from time to time.
He notes that thousands of persons have served in the “defence forces and discipline services of Guyana in which they rendered essential national defence and public security services to the nation as whole”.
He also believes that “many ex-soldiers and servicemen have faced challenges which have had deleterious effects on their employment, health and welfare of their dependants”.
Section 20 of the Defence Act, Chapter 15:01 is also cited in his motion, which highlights that certain members of the defence forces are required to retire only after 22 years of service while other veterans of the disciplined services may be discharged honourably from regular service.
National Day of Villages
Meanwhile, the opposition leader is also calling on the government of Guyana to issue a commemorative stamp and coin, as well as designate November 7 as ‘National Day of Villages’.
The significance of this day will be to honour and respect “the pioneering purchasers and to promote national appreciation of the village movement at all levels”.
In light of this motion, Granger has sought to highlight the preamble of the Constitution that declares “We the Guyanese people… proclaim our commitment to safeguard and build on the rich heritage, won through tireless struggle, bequeathed us by our forebears.”
Article 35 further states, “The state honours and respects the diverse cultural strains which enrich the society and will seek constantly to promote national appreciation of them at all levels.”
Meanwhile, the stipulated November 7 date is identified, given that on that day in 1893, emancipated Africans established Plantation Northbrook, a free community which was later named Victoria Village.
This move was followed by a series of other purchases of communities, known as the Village Movement. The most recent issuance of commemorative coins was last month when the Bank of Guyana, in collaboration with the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry, issued two coins in honour of the 250th anniversary of the Berbice Slave Rebellion and the 175th anniversary of Indian Immigration to Guyana.
‘The 1763 Slave Revolt’ and the ‘1838 Indian Arrival’ are the names of the two commemorative coins.
According to Culture Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, the coins serve as a good reminder for current and future generations of the importance of their past and “the resistance that our ancestors put up, they didn’t just accept the conditions under which they laboured, but they also tried to resist the horrors of the slavery system that was imposed upon them”.
