President nominates four out of five PSC members for debate

FOUR people have been sent to Parliament for consideration to be appointed to the Police Service Commission (PSC) by President Paula Mae Weekes.

In a media statement on Wednesday, the President added two more names to the list. The added names are Maxine King, head of Wealth Management, Firstline Securities Ltd and Ian Kevin Ramdhanie, academic head of the Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety.

The President said having consulted with both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader and having received a response from the Prime Minister for both names, she submitted the names to Parliament for debate.

On Monday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wrote to the President asking that the process be halted as the President lost moral and ethical grounds to continue the process.

In response, the President said she will not stop looking for members to make up the PSC after the last board collapsed when the members resigned days after each other.

The other nominees are retired justice of appeal Judith Jones and leadership consultant and management accountant Maxine Attong.

The PSC is a five member committee with responsibility over the Police Commissioner and the three Deputy Commissioners of Police.

A fifth person, Ernest Koylass SC, was suggested by the President, but Persad-Bissessar said Koylass publicly supported the PNM in the past.

The PSC collapsed when members resigned after accusing its chairman Bliss Seepersad of not consulting with them before suspending then acting Police Commissioner Gary Griffith.

The suspension came after the PSC ordered an investigation into allegation of impropriety in the issuing of firearm user’s licences (FUL).