“Government will support you”, Prime Minister tells soldier injured in a fireworks explosion earlier this year.

Sergeant Gordon Cornette suffered burns to his hands and face during an explosion while on duty at the Guyana Defence Force, Coast Guard base in Ruimveldt, Georgetown back in February of this year.

In that incident,  a  31-year-old soldier was badly burnt when pyrotechnics materials exploded at the Coast Guard’s Ruimveldt base. 90 percent of his body was burnt during the incident and he later succumbed to his injuries.
During a visit to the injured soldier’s Clonbrook, East Coast Demerara home, Prime Minister Mark Phillips assured the soldier and his family that the government has the welfare of all its servicemen and women at heart. He noted that “whatever specialist help he needed to recover, he would get it”.

According to a release from the DPI, the Prime Minister added that “GDF and the State of Guyana will take care of Cornette for the rest of his life. He spoke of the 36 years spent in the GDF and said he was responsible for the care of people who got injured and the families of people who got injured”.

Anya Cornette, the sister of the soldier, expressed her gratitude to the Prime Minister for sitting with the family.
She told him that his visit was much appreciated, and she was grateful for him taking time out of his busy schedule to visit and listen. She told him It was reported in the press that the army would visit and he showed up, “so it shows that you kept your promise, and I just want to encourage you to continue putting your best foot forward,” she said.
The DPI release added that similar sentiments were shared by the father of the soldier Gordon Cornette (Snr.).
Also present during the meeting with the family, was Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Godfrey Bess, Medical Officer, Guyana Defence Force, Major Nigel Langhorne, and other representatives of the GDF.