Acting Top Cop wants reconstitution of PSC fast-tracked

There is much anxiety amongst senior officers of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) regarding promotions for 2017 and as such, acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine is calling for the Police Service Commission (PSC) to be re-constituted as soon as possible.
At a press conference held in the Commissioner’s Conference Room on Friday, Ramnarine told reporters that the number of senior ranks within the Force is dwindling. To this end, he noted that the Force is eagerly awaiting the reconstitution of the PSC so that the long-awaited promotions for 2017 can be made.

“We may appear to be a bit scarce in the senior ranks (category) and that is because last year alone we lost 13 senior ranks by way of retirement, including three Assistant Commissioners, Senior Superintendents and Superintendents; and this year, some four (ranks will retire). In fact, in a few days one is going to go off, then shortly after another one and shortly after another one, then later on in the year another one. So we eagerly await the work of the new Police Service Commission when that would have come on stream,” the acting Top Cop posited.
Before the life of the last PSC ended back in September, President David Granger had ordered in July that it put a hold on the consideration of senior rank promotions.
According to Ramnarine, this situation has caused some uneasiness amongst members of the Force, including junior ranks.
“It was important, it was absolutely necessary that these junior ranks be promoted because there was an air that with the Service Commission and senior ranks not being promoted, some (junior ranks) were beginning to become a little bit stressed that they too will not get promoted,” he stated.
The Police Force promoted a total of 204 junior ranks last month.
Nevertheless, with regards to the reconstitution of the PSC, President Granger told reporters at a press conference in December that he would like to see the Commission in place before the end of 2017.
However, despite the new members having already been selected, they are yet to be formally appointed.
Meanwhile, the Head of State at last month’s press conference had also justified his decision to halt the promotion of officers. Despite a court order stating that the Government had acted unconstitutionally, Granger maintained that he had good cause for stopping the promotions.
According to Granger, he determined that there was a danger that persons who were not qualified would be recommended for promotion, while others more deserving would end up being left behind.
In the November 22, 2017, court ruling in regard to the halting of promotion of personnel so listed, Chief Justice (acting) Roxane George established that the President did breach the Constitution when he issued a directive to halt promotions.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, in a letter dated July 27, 2017, wrote to the PSC informing that the President had directed that there be no consideration of promotion for members of the Guyana Police Force until further notice, and that this directive should be implemented immediately.
In August, former PSC Chairman Omesh Satyanand had made known that, after a meeting with the other Commissioners, it was decided that the order to halt all promotions until further notice would be adhered to.
The Chairman had, however, expressed concern that halting the entire promotion process would be a blow to senior officers; and had noted that those officers had invested time and energy in building a career in the Guyana Police Force, and were expecting their just reward.
A perusal of the PSC’s list of personnel to be promoted had revealed that among those who were scheduled to be promoted were several senior officers who had been hauled before the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the assassination plot against President David Granger. (Vahnu Manikchand)