Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall has criticized the decision taken by the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) – two constitutional agencies – to “back” the main parliamentary opposition in a court action to block their own allocations from the 2021 budget.
During his most recent live Facebook programme, “Issues in the News”, the AG said that the action, which was filed by A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Members of Parliament (MP) Corretta McDonald and Ganesh Mahipaul, is a “political” one. He further noted that several of the lawyers representing Mahipaul and McDonald are top APNU+AFC officials, including MPs Khemraj Ramjattan, Roysdale Forde, and Raphael Trotman.
Given the “politicised” nature of the case, the stance taken by the TSC and PSC can be viewed as “partisan” and indicates that these agencies are just ‘camouflaged’ as independent agencies, when they are, in fact, political. At least this is what Nandlall is contending.
He said, “The Police Service Commission and the Teaching Service Commission have joined a political party in filing political litigation against the government…They have shunned their masks. They have pulled off their masks and they are now openly political. Paul Slowe, the Chairman of the PSC, and the Commissioners are signaling to the World that they are politically partisan; that they have joined politicians in litigation – that is a violation of the Constitution itself.”
Nandlall said that in another matter, Slowe has indicated he does not require the AG to appear on behalf of the Commission in that matter. Nandlall took umbrage to that; noting that ‘historically’ the AG represents the service commissions. While Slowe’s request has been respected, Nandlall said that he is concerned that Slowe has no problem being represented by Forde, Ramjattan, and Trotman, all politicians, in this case to stop his agency from accessing monies.
“So, Paul Slowe and the Police Service Commission are going to the court to stop their budget from being granted. Can you believe these people? And they want the government to take them seriously? They want the public to treat them with respect? I have no problem if they want to become politicians – that is their right! I am a politician. But I am not masquerading as independent. I am not going to take an office or take an appointment to an office that is independent. That is the problem I have.”
