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  • 5 weeks ago
Former head of the National Operations Center and regional security expert, Garvin Heerah, weighs in on this year's budget, noting that while national security received attention, the country's borders require greater focus, particularly given the current geopolitical climate.

Nicole M Romany tells us more.
Transcript
00:00The regional security expert says the budget's attention to national security
00:04is a step in the right direction, but he warns that border security must be prioritized.
00:11With regional tensions rising, Garvin Herer emphasizes that raising our border standards
00:16to meet international benchmarks is crucial for protecting the country and maintaining stability.
00:22That is not equipping the Coast Guard with vessels of fuel to patrol the waters.
00:27That is a combination of all agencies involved to ensure airspace management, maritime domain awareness,
00:33inland enforcement, and most importantly, the systems integration of our intelligence architecture.
00:39He says it's beyond just equipping the Coast Guard with vessels.
00:44It is a strategic professional approach with an outpouring or inpouring into a theatre
00:49as to how the country's structures, border control management.
00:53We are in a tension zone with regard to regional security, and if we don't address border control management,
00:59our infrastructure out there on the coastline, our conflicts with some of our neighbouring countries,
01:05border control management could continue to be a significant vulnerability,
01:08and therefore if we express a certain, what I'll call, temperature check of vulnerability,
01:15it can affect investment, it can affect the strategizing, and as I closed, as I open,
01:21sorry, I will close, security drives strategy.
01:25And keeping in line with the country's protective services and their concerns,
01:29General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, Lester Logie,
01:33had some questions about pensions for officers.
01:36Well, a big challenge is that NIS announcement, majority of the members of the protective service
01:45retire 55 years, and they wait five years till 60 to access their NIS pension.
01:53So that, we have to sort out that issue with the government to see how we could deal with that gap.
02:02That's a serious challenge.
02:03In response, Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, Kennedy Surat Singh,
02:09said the government is planning to treat with it, but it will be done in a period that spans over time.
02:16Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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