President Ali extends acting Top Cop’s tenure

PRESIDENT , Dr . Irfaan

Ali has extended the tenure of Clifton Hicken as acting Police Commissioner of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

The Head of State , responding to questions from reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday, said an official letter has been issued to extend his services

“I’ve already issued a letter extending the services of the Commissioner of Police,” Dr. Ali said.

The timeline of the extension, the President said, will be determined at a later date

In March 2022, Hicken was appointed to act as the country’s Commissioner of Police, following the retirement of Nigel Hoppie, who previously held the post Hicken reached the age of 55 years last month

He previously headed the Police Force’s Operations and served in many capacities including Commander of the then ‘ A ’ Division (Georgetown) and ‘B’ Division (Berbice). He was also the head of the Force’s Training Centre.

Ali remarked , highlighting the progress made in housing, education, among other sectors

He then went on to say: “We don’t have the luxury of time to indulge in sideshows , to indulge in side performances ; our time is spent and must be spent on the magnitude and task ahead of us in building this country, and building it quickly, and building it strong, and building it in a unified way.”

President Ali reminded the appointees that Guyana’s constitution states that sovereignty originates from and belongs to the people , and that the democratic will was exercised through free, fair and credible Local Government Elections (LGEs).

While highlighting that persons were elected to act on the various responsibilities that lie within the respective offices , the President remarked: “Today, I am pleased to have administered the oath of office to the respective Mayors and Deputy Mayors for our country ’ s municipalities and also to the Vice-Chairman of Region 10.”

Meanwhile , the various Mayors and their deputies expressed excitement and commitment to work harder in their capacities

In an interview with the Deputy Mayor of Lethem , Indira Singh, she said: “We [she and the Mayor] would have [sic] established a very bright plan for the town, and we want to continue with that.”

The People ’ s Progressive Party (PPP) councillor said that she will continue being on the ground to hear the concerns of the people, as that is the drive of her party.