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…expresses worry over government flouting the constitution
The Alliance For Change (AFC) has congratulated the police officers who were recently promoted by the Police Service Commission even as it knocked the government for allegedly flouting the constitution.
“The AFC notes with increasing worry the PPP Government’s stretching of the limits of legal constraint, the flouting of the Constitution and the undermining of the norms of democratic government in its recent collision course with the Police Service Commission (PSC), Leader of the party, Khemraj Ramjattan told a news conference last week.
Ramjattan said that it was for good reason why the framers of the Constitution saw it fit to have such an independent entity as the PSC determine questions of promotions, disciplining and removal of officers of the Guyana Police Force, namely Inspector to Assistant Commissioner. “It insulates the operations of that institution of law and order from political interference. What the country has seen in the past days is flagrant attempts to instruct the Commissioners as to how to do its job and who to promote. This is disgraceful conduct and another instance of the dismantling of the guardrails of democracy,” Ramjattan a former security minister said.
Additionally, he said what was seen is the crude, unconstitutional attempt at suspending two Commissioners of the PSC when those Commissioners stoically stood up to an ill-advised President. “The AFC maintains that fabricated charges are never a basis for suspension of Commissioners. The Constitution provides a special procedure for suspension, which clearly was never adhered to as posited so articulately by the Commissioners’ Attorney, Mr Selwyn Peters,” Ramjattan said.
The former Vice President said the AFC asserts that once the way was made clear by the Chief Justice making her ruling in the Brutus et al application, the Commissioners had every right and power to proceed with the performance of their duty to promote who they thought fit and proper. “Though our Attorney General, who has a penchant to hear himself, may not like it, he must appreciate that on this specific, limited issue of promotion of officers as listed on 28th June by the Police Service Commission, these Commissioners are indeed the “judge, jury and executioner” on that matter. It is certainly not the President as he outrageously submits,” Ramjattan said.
To this end Ramjattan said the AFC wishes to congratulate those officers who were duly promoted, and exhort them to preserve professionalism in extremely challenging times. “They must stand tall like Paul and ensure their promotions are not voided by the Government in any manner whatsoever, whether by coercion or fear. If needs be, they must vindicate these promotions by Court rulings. These promotions are perfectly in order, made by a PSC which was properly constituted and cannot be countermanded by anyone, inclusive of the President.
