Benoit supports Griffith as CoP

Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Claude Benoit has thrown his support behind incoming Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith.

Ina telephone interview on Tuesday, Benoit said that while the Chamber was yet to meet on the issue, he did have some personal feelings on the issue.

“The country deserves a police commissioner and I really hope that once he (Griffith) takes up office and gets going, he can play a role in quelling the criminal elements in the country.

“This is something that we want as a community, as a nation, as a people, we need someone to intervene to help with the criminal elements that are invading the place and if Mr Griffith is the one that is chosen to do so, we wish him all the best and hope that he is very successful in dealing with the issues at hand,” he said.

On Monday, Griffith’s nomination was approved by the House of Representatives after brief debate featuring just Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal. Nineteen government MPs voted for, 13 Opposition members abstained, and there were zero votes against.

Members of the Opposition abstained from voting for their former colleague to protest what they said was the flawed selection process, but were still willing to give him support.

Prakash Ramadhar, Griffith’s former political leader while he was a member of the Congress of the People, said, “I support Gary Griffith and I wish him the very best, because if he succeeds we will all benefit.”

Opposition Whip David Lee added that he and his Opposition colleagues had worked with Griffith and “were not against him.”

Lee said the Opposition’s grouse was that the selection process was flawed and that is why the 13 members present in the Chamber Monday afternoon could not vote in favour of Griffith’s appointment.

Ramadhar concurred, saying the selection process was “butchered” and it was “hypocritical” for the Government to use the same process it had demonised early on.

Lee added that if the government itself had said the selection process was flawed it could not come now and appoint Griffith as its choice for CoP.

The Opposition also said it wanted no part in potential lawsuits from rejected candidates who lost out because of the same flawed process now accepted in the case of Griffith.

“We worked with (Griffith) and we understand his ability, but given what will happen, I might not be surprised if there’s a stay on the appointment of the commissioner,” Lee said.

Rejected candidates included deputy commissioners of police Deodath Dulalchan and Harold Phillip, who the government claimed were not suitable because they did not apply for the job, but rather were nominated by the Police Service Commission on merit.

The third choice, current acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, applied but was also rejected because the government “didn’t believe the fight against crime was where it needed to be,” leaving Griffith, a former soldier and national security minister under former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.