GEORGETOWN – Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Nigel Hughes on Friday unveiled an ambitious package of pay increases, bonuses, and benefits for members of the Joint Services if his party assumes office, adding to a growing list of election-season promises aimed at winning over the country’s uniformed ranks.
At a press conference, Hughes announced that under an AFC-led government, members of the military would start with a $250,000 monthly salary, along with “significant” across-the-board pay raises. He also promised two months’ tax-free year-end bonuses for military personnel, one month’s tax-free bonus for Guyana Defence Force civilian workers, and a $50,000 annual tax-free bonus for those stationed at Guyana’s borders.
All Joint Services members, Hughes said, would also receive an annual $100,000 cash grant, while those permanently disabled in the line of duty would be entitled to $5 million in compensation. Additionally, the AFC plans to develop housing schemes specifically for Joint Services members across the country.
While Hughes did not detail how these measures would be financed, his proposals come as other political contenders are also targeting the Joint Services with high-value promises. Just last month, the PPP/C government, through Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo, pledged to continue annual salary increases for public sector workers, expand cash grants, and improve housing access for soldiers and police officers.
The PPP/C restored the tax-free year-end bonus for the Joint Services in 2020 after it was discontinued under the APNU+AFC administration in 2015.Meanwhile, WIN Presidential Candidate Azruddin Mohamed has been promoting his own platform of cash incentives and bonuses for state employees, including improved welfare benefits for security personnel.
Although short on detailed costing, Mohamed has argued that Guyana’s oil revenues can sustain higher payouts if managed transparently.Political observers note that such pledges are not unusual during election campaigns, but financing them sustainably remains a recurring question.
The AFC’s last stint in government — as part of the APNU+AFC coalition from 2015 to 2020 — saw the removal of the tax-free year-end bonus, a decision that drew criticism from many in the security sector.
With less than a month to go before elections, the Joint Services — a group numbering thousands and spread across every region — appear to be a key constituency for all major parties. Whether these competing promises translate into actual policy after the votesre counted is a question only the next government can answer.
