AG: PSC not Govt facing legal action

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi said the legal action which former police corporal Wayne Hayde has initiated is against the Police Service Commission (PSC) and not the government.

Al-Rawi made this point before Friday's sitting of the House of Representatives. "He is threatening action against them for something that they've done." He reminded reporters "there is a complete constitutional wall between the PSC and government."

Stressing that government's only role in the selection of a Commissioner of Police (CoP) is through the Parliament, Al-Rawi explained, "We get a process that is delivered to us via the PSC which is a list, which is done one by one."

Observing conflicting views from the Opposition about crime, Al-Rawi said he personally thinks the Opposition's intent is to make the country ungovernable. The PSC said it received a letter from Hayde's attorney Fulton Wilson, but has not replied to it as yet.

On one hand, Al-Rawi said, the Opposition brought a no-confidence motion against National Security Minister Edmund Dillon claiming crime is a big issue. Then, Opposition Senator Wade Mark says, "I'm tired, I want a vacation."

"Which is it? Is crime a big issue or not," Al-Rawi asked. During the debate on Friday on a motion to approve the nomination of Stephen Williams as CoP, Communications Minister Stuart Young rejected Naparima MP Rodney Charles' claim that $400,000 was being wasted on this sitting.

Young said all parliamentarians are paid whether or not they are in Parliament. He also said Opposition parliamentarians have written the chairmen of different joint select committees (JSC) to say they will not participate in meetings which take place during the parliamentary recess.