AG slams UNC’s ‘conspiracy theories’ on new CoP selection process

ATTORNEY general Faris Al-Rawi has referred to the Opposition’s arguments against the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Selection Process) Order 2021 as “conspiracy theories of ranting and raving conspiracy theorists.”

He was speaking in the Senate on Monday morning on opposition senator Wade Mark’s private motion to annul the order.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith’s contract ends in August and he has said he will be reapplying for the position.

On June 17, the government announced that the process of selecting a commissioner and three deputies will be shortened by removing the mandate to advertise the post internationally.

The new constitutional provision also allows the commission to submit to the President a list of suitable candidates from among the ranks and not just the highest-ranked. This list may include anyone on contract, or who had been previously employed on contract, to be nominated to act as commissioner and/or deputy, pending the appointment of a substantive office-holder.

Mark said the order sought to “interfere” with the selection process and not simplify it, as Al-Rawi has said.

He said the new process would put the President in an “unenviable position.”

He also said he can’t bring himself to believe these changes were part of a “premeditated attempt by this government to choose their own commissioner,” but he can instead accept there may have been oversights.

He said, “Get back to the drawing board, return our independence, allow the Police Service Commission (PSC) to hire a firm to assist it and allow the PSC to send to the President the highest-ranked and graded officer who would have topped the order of merit list, and that name should then be sent to the House of Representatives to approve or to deny.”

Al-Rawi said the order does not prevent the PSC from hiring a firm but that it is just no longer mandatory.

He said the order is a “constitutionally correct process for a commissioner.”

“His (Mark’s) conspiracy theory is that because of the removal of a firm to select a candidate has been put into effect...somehow the order before us becomes unconstitutional (and that) Cabinet will interfere with the process.

“Service commissions are given the task of ensuring an insulation of the public servants away from the will of an executive or government. That’s what a service commission is designed to do.”

Al-Rawi said the last selection process for a commissioner took four years and “millions of dollars,” so “a responsible government” decided to act accordingly.

“We simply took an order, simplified the order by basically saying, ‘PSC, you go and do yuh ting,’ – T-I-N-G. Ting. ‘Go and appoint a commissioner, procure via a transparent process in your own discretion.’”

He said he “rejects the conspiracy theories of Senator Mark,” and the Opposition’s “attempts to delay or prevent the process.”

Independent senator Anthony Vieira said while he respects Mark’s views, “The country deserves a less lengthy, less expensive and simpler process.

“Most importantly I believe the PSC has the experience and capability to do what it was set to do.”

He said if this country wants to be free from crime and disorder, it is “critical to get the best man for the job,” and that the person must be honest and have courage and integrity.

But he said he was dissatisfied that the commissioner’s contract did not have provisions for renewal, adding that a three-year tenure is “a bit on the short side.

“If the incumbent is performing well, having an option for renewal is in everyone’s best interest.

“If the commissioner’s contract is ending in August, then why are we only now taking action? These wheels should have been put into motion many months ago.”

He did not agree with the conclusions Mark deduced.

“Yes, I accept that the process has been simplified, (but) it does not undermine the PSC from carrying out its functions or the House of Representatives from carrying out its functions. The country doesn’t have another $27 million to waste.”

Opposition senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said she agreed with Vieira and questioned why the government waited until “the 11th hour” to make these changes.

“And the necessity to ensure we have a commissioner appointed is not a reason to accept any shortcut process that the government put forward today.”

She said the new process seems “whittled down” and that “we shouldn’t be looking to save money and make (such an important) process simpler.

“Cheap thing no good and good thing no cheap,” she said.

She agreed with Mark that only the name of the highest-ranked candidate should be sent to the President.

Referring to Al-Rawi’s “Go and do yuh ting,” comment, she said he does not know if the PSC has adequate resources, competence or staff to do that, but this country deserves the “absolute best process."

She used a hypothetical example of an incumbent commissioner being “assessed over a period of time, by this said PSC and they have giving him glowing reviews for three years,” and questioned if there would not be some form of bias in the selection process.

“That is the value of an independent firm,” she said.