Where is Parliament's authority undermined?

THE EDITOR: When will we be serious about removing the bureaucracy that erodes the timely delivery of goods and services by all aspects of the public service to us the citizens of TT? And when will we call politicians out for using this bureaucracy as a political weapon for their own designs?

Those questions can be applied to every delivery arm of the State but in this case I am asking it with regard to the recent comments in media conferences and press releases by the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader.

Last week the PM said the Attorney General was drafting legislation to bring to the Parliament that would remove the necessity of having to come to Parliament to approve an acting commissioner of police (CoP), should the substantive holder be out of the country for a day or two.

Almost immediately, the Opposition Leader put out a press release to create the impression that this will subvert the rule of law and it is a move to politicise the office and put political appointees into the position of top cop by bypassing parliamentary oversight.

But if the position of acting CoP is to be filled by a deputy commissioner and if the deputy commissioners were subject to a process where Parliament had to approve them as the final say in their appointment, then where is the Parliament’s authority being undermined?

A temporary appointment for a matter of days should be a management function and not an opportunity for politicians to use time in the Parliament, column inches in newspapers and minutes on social media and newscasts to undermine the very TT Police Service (TTPS)’s authority in an environment and time where all responsible citizens need to support them and their fight against crime and do everything we can to root out corruption everywhere, even and especially in the TTPS.

Allowing the TTPS to remove bureaucracy that slows decision making is a good thing. If there is disagreement on when or for how long those temporary appointments can be made then that is a matter for responsible parliamentarians to ventilate in the Parliament during a debate, and their votes will reflect the ability to willingly work together for all of us.

That is their job and we need to stop getting caught up in shallow, political arguments and hold all 41 of them accountable to that higher standard. Unfortunately for some of us in this country, that starts with raising our own standard from bacchanal to logic.

I will be watching that debate to see what happens.

DANIEL P WILLIAM

Diego Martin