Appointment of Top Cop: Norton refuses to engage in constitutionally required consultations

While the Government has reached out to Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton to have consultations with him on the continued acting appointment of Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken, Norton has poured cold water on such consultations until he has his day in court regarding the Police Service Commission (PSC).

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton

The Government, through Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira, had written to Norton in a letter dated June 29, inviting him to send his written submissions to President Dr Irfaan Ali on Hicken’s appointment. On Friday, however, Norton moved to court seeking to quash the appointment of the PSC.
In his Fixed Date Application (FDA), Norton had also contended that Hicken’s appointment was unilateral and not in keeping with Article 211 of the Constitution. When contacted on Saturday about whether he intends to consult with the President, Norton made it clear he would not until his case is concluded.
“We have legal action in the court. And there can be no consultation until this matter is determined in the courts. So, I don’t know… they have already violated the law. So, the matter is in the courts and the courts will determine,” Norton said.
In the letter to Norton, Teixeira had explained why Norton was not initially consulted on Hickens’s appointment. Teixeira noted that at the time Hicken was appointed on March 30 to fill the position left by the retiring Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie, there was no Opposition Leader.
Hoppie had proceeded on pre-retirement leave at the time. Teixeira had explained that in the interest of preserving peace, law and order, the President appointed Hicken to act, rather than leave a power vacuum in the senior echelons of the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

President Dr Irfaan Ali

Having already consulted the recently appointed PSC Chairman, Patrick Findlay, Teixeira explained that President Ali was now inviting written submissions from Norton on the matter, by July 4.
In his FDA, Norton has asked the High Court to quash the recent appointments of the Chairmen and members of the Police Service and Integrity Commissions who were sworn in before President Dr Irfaan Ali on May 31.

Appointments
The Head of State had forged ahead with the appointment of the constitutional commissions notwithstanding Norton’s threats to take legal action if the Government went ahead with the process without completing the consultation process as required by the Constitution.
Norton had failed to attend a meeting to discuss constitutional matters with the President on May 30, despite being invited to the meeting via a letter sent to Congress Place, Sophia, Greater Georgetown. President Ali had not only described Norton’s action as regrettable and disappointing but also a “demonstration of immaturity”.

The letter that was dispatched to Norton

The new members of the Police Service Commission (PSC) are: Attorney-at-Law Mark Conway, businessmen Ernesto Choo-a-Fat, and Hakeem Mohammed, and Pastor Patrick Findlay, who will serve as Chairman.
Meanwhile, the Integrity Commission (IC) has Demerara Bank Corporate Secretary Chandra Gajraj as Chairperson, along with Mohamed Haniff, lawyer and former Solicitor General Kim Kyte-Thomas, Hardesh Tiwari, and Reverend Wayne Chris Bowman as members.
Norton, who is also the leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)—the largest party in the APNU/AFC coalition—complained that he was not afforded a “reasonable opportunity” to express a considered opinion on the matter of consultation with respect to the appointments of the PSC and IC.
He deposed that President Ali did not provide adequate information to him in respect of the President’s rationale, reasons, and/or grounds having regard to the respective persons’ suitability and/or competence for appointment to the respective public offices.
Against his backdrop, he argued that the spirit and letter of the Constitution in respect of consultation and meaningful consultation were violated by the President.
The politician, among other things, is seeking an order quashing the appointment of Findlay and Gajraj as the Chairmen of the PSC and IC, respectively, and an order declaring that all actions taken by commissions are null, void, and are of no force and effect.
Pending the hearing of his application, the Opposition Leader through Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde is requesting an injunction prohibiting Findlay and Gajraj as well as the commissions’ members from exercising any of the functions, duties, obligations, and/or powers vested in them.
He is seeking another injunction barring the PSC’s Chairman from engaging in meaningful consultation with the President for the appointment of a Police Commissioner, and the appointment or appointments of Deputy Commissioner of Police until the FDA is determined. (G3)