“We cannot allow Norton to ridicule appointment of Commissions” – AG Nandlall

…assures Govt will continue to follow due constitutional process

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has contended that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government will not allow Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton to ridicule the appointment process of the various Service Commissions to fit his own agenda.

“We cannot wait (to make these appointments). Judges have to be appointed, teachers have to be promoted, Police [have to be promoted]; important decisions have to be made… We cannot allow Mr Norton to ridicule this process and reduce it to one of the ego-centricities that he seems to be engaged in the public domain,” Nandlall stated during this week’s episode of his programme – Issues in the News.
His comment comes on the heels of Norton threatening legal action to challenge the recent appointments of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Integrity Commission on Tuesday.
President Dr Irfaan Ali went ahead and swore in the members of these two Commissions after the Opposition Leader had failed to show up for a second meeting with the Head of State on Monday, citing that he was busy.
According to Nandlall, Norton has displayed a lack of understanding of the importance of these appointments, as well as the role of his office.
“[Norton’s] busyness is more important than advancing the cause of hundreds of Police officers whose welfare are affected by a Commission that is not appointed. But he doesn’t see that. It is clear that he is way over his head when it comes to this role as Leader of the Opposition. I get the clear impression that Mr Norton has not yet come to grips with the importance of the office…I don’t think he’s gotten accustomed to the environment, and certainly he’s not prepared, from his own actions, to discharge the functions of that high office in the manner contemplated by the Constitution,” the Attorney General posited.
He further reassured that the Government and President Ali have complied with the provisions of the Constitution in relation to the appointments made on Tuesday, and will continue to do so with other similar appointments.
“No one will hold our Government at ransom and try to bully…and behave in any way that is contumacious and contemptuous either of our Government or the important constitutional processes. That will not be tolerated.

Every effort will continue to be made to engage Mr Norton in compliance with the Constitution. Wherever Mr Norton is unwilling to engage, the process will be proceeded with in accordance with the Constitution. The Constitution nor the law will ever contemplate a situation where the entire rule of law will be held to ransom because you have a recalcitrant or delinquent Leader of the Opposition, who refuses to consult. It can never be that important appointments cannot be made because one person, who is the subject of consultations and who is to participate in the consultations, unreasonably refuses to discharge his constitutional role. The Constitution itself will not be compromised or sabotaged in that way,” the Legal Affairs Minister contended.
On May 13, President Ali and Norton met for the first time and agreed to consult on the appointments of the PSC, Integrity Commission, Teaching Service Commission, and the Judicial Service Commission in keeping with the Constitution, which stipulates that “meaningful consultation” be held on these appointments.
With regard to the PSC, the National Assembly approved the appointments, and the President and the Opposition Leader were required to consult on selecting the Chairman from among the names submitted.
President Ali has already made it clear that the development of the country will not be held hostage by political objects. On Monday, he had labelled the Opposition Leader’ actions to skip the meeting that day as “immature”.
The Head of State explained that all the information, including the CVs of the 14 nominees, were provided to Norton upon his request prior to, and during, their first meeting.
“On May 27, I then invited the Leader of the Opposition to the second physical meeting. We received no response, nor objections to the CVs. Then, at 2:25 PM, fifteen minutes after our scheduled meeting, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs received a letter from the Opposition Leader saying just one thing. The President should tell him the grounds on which he makes the appointments,” the President recalled.
The new members of the PSC, who were sworn in on Tuesday, are: Attorney-at-Law Lloyd Mark Conway, businessman Ernesto Choo-a-Fat, and Pastor Patrick Findlay, who will serve as Chairman. Businessman Hakeem Mohammed, who was also appointed to the commission, will be sworn in at a later date.
Meanwhile, the Integrity Service Commission has Demerara Bank Corporate Secretary Chandra Gajraj as its Chairperson; along with Attorney-at-Law Mohamed Haniff and former Solicitor General Kim Kyte-Thomas, Hardesh Tiwari and Wayne Chris Bowman as members.