Govt to challenge High Court ruling on suspension of PSC – AG Nandlall

Following the ruling of High Court Judge Gino Persaud that President Dr Irfaan Ali acted unconstitutionally when he suspected the previous Police Service Commission (PSC), Attorney General Anil Nandlall has confirmed that the ruling will be challenged.

The President suspended PSC Chairman Paul Slowe and Commissioner Clinton Conway in June 2021 after they were charged with attempts to defraud the Guyana Police Force (GPF) of $10 million.

Two years after Slowe filed judicial review proceedings against the President’s decision, High Court Judge Gino Persaud on Friday ruled that the suspension of the commission was unconstitutional.

However, Nandlall stands with the President’s decision, highlighting several instances where the PSC demonstrated biases and impartiality.

For one, Slowe and the PSC’s decision to challenge the legality of the budget passed after the March 2020 elections, Nandlall said, was a choice to align itself with a group of politicians in a politically inspired litigation.

“In my view, that apparent independent organ - isation [PSC] decided to shed its independence and to take a political alignment, disqualifying itself from holding an office which requires independence and political neutrality,” Nandlall said.

Additionally, the Attorney General explained that there have been several instances of Police officers challenging the manner in which the PSC handled appointments of new members and other officers.

“[Several Police officers] were claiming that they were bypassed for promotions and there were disciplinary charges instituted against them which were deliberately not being heard by the very PSC so as to keep them from being promoted,” Nandlall related.

“It’s alleged by Police officers that [appointment] procedures were abrogated by the PSC and they were moving at breakneck speed to promote one set of officers, disregarding others who felt they were deserving of promotions and at the same time, violating the procedure by which these Police officers have to travel before they reach the PSC for promotion.”

It is against that backdrop that the President intervened, Nandlall said, adding that the issue arose when the Head of State noticed the absence of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and subsequent inability to establish a tribunal to investigate the matter.

“What the President did in the exercise of his executive power and his delib - erate judgement and because there was no JSC to whom he could’ve turned to establish the tribunal [the next step was to] proceed to exercise this power, which he has, to suspend the PSC,” Nandlall expressed.

Aiming to file the appeal early next week, the Attorney General is confident of the Government’s success, adding that this case brings to question several constitutional issues: the behavioural conduct of a PSC, the type of posture it can take in respect to political matters, the decorum of members of such an organisation and what a President should do when you have JSC that is vacant and you have to establish a tribunal or exercise a power of suspension.

…and students

Wise people say, “Yuh na need flambeau fuh see in bright daylight!!” And, dear reader, what your Eyewitness sees is that the breakdown of order in the political realm is inevitably reverberating in all aspects of national life. Does anyone really believe we can have MPs insisting they did nothing wrong in blowing whistles in the ears of a Minister making a presentation in Parliament?? Or ditto for MPs snatching the symbol of authority of Parliament – the Mace – and knocking down the Sergeant-at-Arms defending it?? And ditto for tearing out the communications equipment.

Hey…MPs and other holders of Government offices have long represented the highest aspirations of our society; would we even dream to be the GOVERNOR and his exalted officers?? For us mere natives, the best we could do – if we tried and tried – was to become a clerk in the Civil Service. Or a tad easier, a schoolteacher!! That’s right folks, they couldn’t get teachers to come out to the colonies, so the missionaries who did come out to save souls started with the young in schools!! – and trained locals to carry on their mission.

So, to the ordinary folks, the school teacher was the closest they got to officialdom. In the villages or in the wards, the teacher represented the Empire. He might’ve earned a pittance, and any canecutter could’ve outearned him – but boy, oh boy, did he have STATUS!! He wore his suit and tie, set standards of behaviour, and was given the highest respect by one and all. The British arranged the school system like the Romans governed their Empire.

At the top was the headmaster – get it?? Head MASTER! Followed by Senior Masters and Mistresses, and then the ordinary masters and mistresses. The students had “prefects” elevated from their ranks to intermediate between them and the “Masters”!! All sorts of rituals – like being literally rapped on your knuckles for having your hair out of place!! – kept the order. Condign whippings were doled out for more serious infractions –like getting your sums wrong!!

Now, we knew Independence would loosen some of all this disciplining; and it certainly did!! But did we expect to get to a point where students – and their parents –can enter schools and assault teachers?? Well, as your Eyewitness said, this breakdown in the educational order is only a subset of the breakdown in the social order - led by our political types. And it happens occasionally from the PPP benches, too!! Remember that MP brandishing that dildo in Parliament??

So, rather than wring our hands and moaning, “O tempora!! O mores”, let us demand that our political elite set appropriate standards for the rest of us.

Or else we’ll see more teachers brandishing those cutlasses!!

…in LGEs

One of the challenges in Local Government Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) is the pittance given to the Councillors!! Your Eyewitness knows that man can’t live on bread alone, but Jeez…he gotta get some bread. And trust your Eyewitness – the fellows on those bodies just can’t even buy stale bread on their stipends. So, many of them bend the rules to make something on the side –which destroys the entire structure of Local Government!!

What to do?? Well, it looks like we have a solution at hand!! Local popular businessmen “Shell” Mohamed has thrown his hat into the ring to be elected as a Councillor in the Eccles/ Ramsburg NDC. Now, isn’t this the perfect fit?

Or what?? Here’s a businessman who has more gold that Midas – so he’ll be insulted to be offered a bribe by any grifter!! And the fact that he’s a SUCCESSFUL businessman means he can get things done in our mudland.

Let’s get some more local businessmen in the LGE race!!

…in the Judiciary

What’s this with the PNC claiming that the Judiciary’s cowed by the Government?? Haven’t they noticed the judgements going against the said Government?? Andas far as your Eyewitness can tell - the PPP flag ain’t flying over no court!!