President David Granger’s is taking too long to find an intelligent and unbribable Commissioner of Police, and this might be sending the wrong signal to hopefuls vying for the Top Cop post, said Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo.
During a press conference hosted at his Church Street Office earlier today, Jagdeo said that Granger’s procrastination maybe disparaging to candidates.
“He’s (President Granger) is taking a very long time to find an unbribable commissioner. So what is he saying about the candidates that are there and generally, the Guyana Police Force (GPF)? In a way, it’s disparaging to the people there (at the GPF) and whoever he selects, people will think like the other candidates were bribable that’s why they were not selected,” the politician said.
Jagdeo stated that the criteria is a good one but lacks consistency. He opined that the President should extend this requirement for other positions including those of ministers.
“And if the President had applied this criteria to his own Cabinet, he may not have had a cabinet today. He should focus on unbribable ministers too given what we are seeing now. This is another excuse on the part of the president, for the long delay that we’re seeing in appointing a substantive Commissioner of Police” Jagdeo argued.
Recent media reports have indicated that President Granger is awaiting recommendations from the Police Service Commission (PSC) so that he can appoint a substantive Commissioner of Police and four Deputy Commissioners of Police.
Following the recommendations, the president will then hold consultations with Chairman of the Commission, Paul Slowe and the Leader of the Opposition, “as soon as practical,” before making his decision, in accordance with Article 211 of the Constitution of Guyana.
At a recent event, the President told the media that Slowe has to first meet with the other commissioners to review the list of potential candidates.
“I told him [Slowe] that I am ready at any time for such a consultation but I am prohibited from proceeding without a consultation,” he noted.
It is still unclear whether Slowe met with the other commissioners.
It was during that engagement with the media corps, that the Head of State re-emphasised the need for the Police Commissioner to “possess intelligence, integrity and independence.” The person of his choice must also be “unbribable” and impartial.
