Concern over secrecy about Gary Griffith's acting appointment

THE FAILURE of the Police Service Commission (PSC) to be fully transparent in appointing Gary Griffith to continue to act as Commissioner of Police until Parliament approves a new appointee has opened the independent body to criticism.

Griffith's three-year term came to an end on Tuesday.

The process of appointing an acting CoP entails the PSC sending the President a list of qualified candidates.

The law is silent on the next step.

Griffith returned to office on Wednesday and met members of the police service executive. He told them the PSC had given him a letter authorising him to continue to act as CoP.

He declined to provide a copy of the letter when asked by Newsday, or a copy of any departmental order issued to the rank and file of the police service indicating who was the acting CoP.

Sgt Anderson Gonzales, the acting president of the Police Second Division Association, said while the PSC was not obliged to inform the police union, "I think as an important stakeholder, courtesy dictates we should have been informed of who would be acting as the CoP during this period to make this information available to our members."

Newsday sent questions to the PSC seeking confirmation on whether Griffith had been appointed to act as CoP.

Rae Ann Harper-Walters, head of the PSC public education unit, said, "I can't confirm anything and I don't have any information to share."

In mid-July, the PSC, chaired by Bliss Seepersad, advertised the position of CoP, as Griffith's contract was nearing its end on August 17.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi piloted constitutional amendments in June which, in effect, removed two requirements from the process of appointing a CoP: the appointment of a recruitment firm to shortlist suitable candidates, and the requirement to advertise the vacancy internationally. This was done to shorten the recruitment process.

The PSC has completed the interviews of applicants, but is yet to sent its order-of-merit list to the Office of the President before the name of the top candidate is submitted to Parliament for approval.

Griffith is among the top candidates, along with DCP Erla Christopher, Newsday was reliably informed.

Legal Notice 183, the official name of the amendment, also provided for the PSC, where the position of CoP or Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) is vacant or about to become vacant, to submit to the President a list of suitably qualified candidates from amongst the ranks of the police service, including those on contract or previously on contract, as nominees to act as CoP or DCP, pending the conclusion of the process to appoint the substantive office-holder.

The legal notice is silent on what happens next.

Section 123 (1)(a) of Constitution (Amendment) Act 2006 gives the PSC the power to appoint candidates to act as CoP in accordance with the criteria and procedure prescribed by order of the President, subject to negative resolution of Parliament.

In the present case, the matter was not referred to Parliament, which is currently on mid-year recess.

Questions sent to the Office of the President seeking clarity on the issue were referred to the PSC.

Did the PSC follow the provisions of legal notice 183 in relation to the acting appointment of the CoP, and what happened after?

Cheryl Lala, communications adviser of the Office of the President, responded: "The Office of the President advises that you direct your enquiries to the Police Service Commission."

Further questions sent to the PSC, on whether it had followed the procedure set out in legal notice 183 in appointing Griffith to act and what the process was followed to select him as the candidate, were not answered.

Newsday sought clarification from the Attorney General, who referred to the provisions of legal notice 183 and noted that the matter fell under the purview of an independent body. Questions sent to National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds were not acknowledged.

Newsday sought the views of two former chairmen of the PSC, Prof Ramesh Deosaran and Nizam Mohammed.

In an e-mailed response, Deosaran asked: "While confidential aspects of the PSC recruitment process must be duly respected, at this stage and given widespread public concerns, there is no harm done if PSC formally clarifies how far its recruitment process has reached and, as required by Legal Notice No. 183 (Section 3), how soon the recommended list of nominations for the substantive CoP post may be submitted to the President.

"In addition, as a public interest matter, according to Legal Notice No 183, was the required 'list of suitably qualified persons as nominees to act in the office of Commissioner' sent to the President? Who (was) on this list?"

"Given the constitutional requirement (Section 123 (2)) for the PSC to submit its nominations for the office of CoP to the President, how does the nomination for 'acting' positions come back to the PSC for making the appointment? Or is making an 'acting appointment' by the PSC an exception? Or can the PSC now make the acting appointment on its own?

"The requirement for the above clarifications does not underestimate the complex nature of the recruitment exercise but given the increasing speculation over this important matter, it will be educational for the public to benefit from some clarification."

Mohammed said, "You must have an acting commissioner. You must have a commissioner in charge, whether he is holding the post substantively or whether he's acting. So if his term has come to an end, an acting police commissioner has to be appointed."

Asked if he was concerned over a possible delay in forwarding the list of candidates, Mohammed said, "One would expect in a process of important appointment that all the paperwork would have been done with due dispatch."

On Tuesday, Newsday also tried to get confirmation at the sod-turning ceremony for the Desperadoes pan theatre at Nelson Street, Port of Spain.

The Prime Minister was approached as he was going to his SUV amid his security detail. Dr Rowley was asked if he was taking questions, but replied, "No, sir, I've taken enough questions for the day."

Newsday also approached Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and former national security minister Stuart Young, who also declined comment.