Panday: Gary fits the bill

Former minister in the Ministry of National Security Subhas Panday has endorsed the government's selection of Gary Griffith as Commissioner of Police.

Griffith, he said, "fits the bill."

However, he said Griffith has a difficult task ahead and should not set targets for himself before he is able to analyse the crime situation once he starts the job.

Panday, a former UNC minister, was addressing a media conference at his Gordon Street, San Fernando, law office on Friday.

On whether the police will co-operate with Griffith, Panday said the police service was accustomed to operating in a particular way and the incoming commissioner has to make sure he wins them over to set them to work.

“You cannot brutalise people to have them work. You have to motivate them,” Panday advised Griffith.

Panday criticised the Opposition UNC for its failure to support Griffith, saying it missed "a golden opportunity to be part of the process to deal with the soaring crime rate."

He added, "It was a missed opportunity they will regret. The entre country should have joined together to fight crime and send a strong message to the criminals that we all mean business.This issue of the appointment of a Commissioner of Police is too important for partisan politics.”

He singled out Opposition MPs Dr Fuad Khan, Dr Bhoe Tewarie and Ganga Singh, calling them cowards for toeing the party line, and said despite them publicly praising Griffith before his nomination in the Parliament on Monday, they nevertheless abstained from voting for him.

"The law as it stands has them in mortal fear of the power of their leader, which forces them to toe the party line even if it is wrong and against the wishes of the people. They also want to hold on to their jobs for the next few months."

He cited Section 49 of Act 15 of 1978, commonly called the Crossing the Floor Act, saying it should be repealed, as it gives the political leader too much power over elected MPs.