Commissioner of Police versus the Assistant Commissioner

Dec 17, 2016 Letters

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Dear Editor,
When will the policy makers, the movers and shakers of the Guyana Police Force stop the legal and political morass that is presently existing in the Force between Seelall Persaud Commissioner of Police and David Ramnarine, Assistant Commissioner of Police? When will those in authority cease their unholy procrastination and take swift, certain and appropriate action to correct the existing sad state of affairs? Are they waiting for auntie to cough? A few months ago the Commissioner proceeded on one hundred days leave.
In his absence David Ramnarine was given the task to perform the duties of commissioner. On the return of the top cop, he attempted to vitiate several actions taken by Ramnarine while he was on leave. He wrote a memo to his Staff Officer and copied to Ramnarine instructing her to rescind the promotion of several subordinate officers that the acting Commissioner had approved. The Commissioner stated that Ramnarine was not given the instrument to perform the duties of commissioner as set out in the Constitution of Guyana. Hence, his actions were unconstitutional. He cited several sections in the Constitution to support his case.
On the other hand, Ramnarine in an opposing response to his superior quoted some areas of the supreme law and posited reasons to justify the elevation of the ranks. He concluded that his actions were well within the ambit of the Constitution and the laws of Guyana. The Commissioner has since withdrawn his order to abbreviate the upward mobility of the policemen. A Guyana Government news release stated that the promotions will stand. However, the lights are still on. The music at the party continues to play even louder. The interpersonal relationship between the two top gunners of the GPF is extremely strained if not acrimonious.
It is affecting the morale of some members of the Force including senior officers and ranks and at the bottom of the ladder. Some are quietly complaining. A retired superintendent whom I know well but will remained nameless, wrote a letter to Kaieteur News. He referred to me as a constitutional expert and asked for my comments on the issue. Let me be pellucid. I am no constitutional expert nor a religious leader or a pope. I have a good relationship with God. On occasions he will give me inspirations in matters relating to law enforcement which I would share with the public and the police, special thanks to the generosity of Kaieteur News and Stabroek News.
I read the Constitution several times. I received legal opinions on the issues. There are diverse views. I also perused some documents on the much forgotten Doctrine of Necessity which might be useful in the present circumstances. Someone said that the law is an ass. As a former senior member of the Force and a victim of an armed robbery at my home l have an abiding interest in the operations of the number one law enforcement agency in Guyana, the GPF.
I want the police to deliver the highest quality of service to the citizens they swore to serve and protect. I did not intend to comment on the issues with the Commissioner and his deputy as I feared that I would have opened a can of worms and that time would have healed the wounds. Apparently the wounds are now infected. Serious disagreement between the two top men in the Force in relation to major administrative and operational issues is active. They were leaked to the social and mainstream media and elsewhere.
Those issues if not nipped in the bud would have the potentials to deface the image of the Force, erode its public confidence and cause some amount of disunity among the policemen at the senior and junior levels of the Force. The matters were expected to be internal ones but are now open for public consumption. Concerned citizens in a recent letter to the editor of Kaieteur News under the caption, “Things not right in the Guyana Police Force,” hinted that there are serious communication and other problems with those at the apex of management in GPF. This has forced me to break my silence.
I discovered that there are more questions than answers and the more I find out the less I know. Whenever things are not going right in an organisation like the police force, changes or reform will take place. If the Commissioner felt that the actions of Ramnarine were unlawful why not  deal with the issues holistically? Why be selective? Why reject only the promotions? Why not reinstate the ranks Ramnarine dismissed? Why not terminate the services of over two hundred plus applicants that Ramnarine approved enlisted and were sworn as members of the Force?
If you cannot promote can you hire or fire?
Why not retrieve from the ranks the large amount of money that Ramnarine awarded them for outstanding performance? Why not revoke the firearms licenses approved by Ramnarine including those for CANU, the Special Constabulary, serving and former members of the Force? Why allow juniors to investigate seniors in relation to disciplinary matters? Could the issues and concerns have been dealt with differently? Could there have been some amount of thinking outside of the box as it relates to the letter and spirit of the law.
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police (rtd)

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