President overstepped authority in directing PSC to halt police promotions - Christopher Ram

President overstepped authority in directing PSC to halt police promotions – Christopher Ram

Aug 14, 2017 News

President David Granger is totally out of order. He has overstepped his boundaries, violated the Constitution and needs to be stood up to.
That’s the opinion of Attorney-at-Law Christopher Ram, in response to reports that President Granger has directed the Police Service Commission (PSC) to halt promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force “until further notice.”

President David Granger

In the letter from the Office of the President, dated July 26, addressed to the Commission’s secretary, Marvalyn Stephens, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that President Granger had “directed that there be no consideration of promotions for members of the Guyana Police Force by the Police Service Commission, until further notice”.
Chairman of the PSC, Omesh Satyanand, confirmed that the letter was sent to the secretary and it came up at a meeting.
Ram told Kaieteur News yesterday that President Granger “has no authority to send any such letter and the Commission,” and the Commission should not heed the directive. He even suggested the course of action in response to the letter.
“The Commission should respond to the letter and make the point that the President is completely out of order in sending such a letter…”
Ominous
Ram said that the incident cannot be examined in isolation. He said that Guyanese have to prepare themselves and understand that if such actions are not addressed there will be more to come.
“This sends a very disturbing signal,” Ram said.
Ram said that President Granger is acting as though he is above the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land.
The attorney stressed that such actions by a President “is a very dangerous trend to begin or to continue.”
“I think it does not auger well for matters like Constitutional reform, which is being talked about, when the president shows such disregard to the Constitution; particularly in the context of previous comments, for example, the ones he made in relation to the appointment of the GECOM Chairman.
At least three officers summoned to the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the alleged assassination plot were on the list to be promoted.
These officers include Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, for the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Chief Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum for Assistant Commissioner and Assistant Superintendent, Head of Major Crimes Unit, Mitchell Caesar, to Deputy Superintendent.
These officers were called to testify at the ongoing COI for the role each of them played in the investigation of the allegation made by Andriff Gillard, that businessman, Nizam Khan, attempted to recruit him to kill the president.

Anti-corruption advocate and lawyer, Christopher Ram

The COI was ordered after it was reported that the investigation was poorly done.
As the modus operandi of the Guyana Police Force is being examined at the COI, the president wrote to the Police Service Commission (PSC) and asked that all promotions be halted until further notice.
Other officers on the promotion list include Assistant Commissioner, Nigel Hoppie to Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent E. Thomas to Assistant Commissioner.
From Deputy Superintendent to Superintendent: G. McAllister, R. Banwarie, R. Ali, L. Saul, G. Davis, C. Johnson, H. Winter and R. Martin. Assistant Superintendent J. Barker and S. Reid were listed to be promoted to Superintendent.
The leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo in a statement said that the letter is another “vulgar and authoritarian” attempt by the President to trample upon the independence and functional autonomy of a Constitutional agency.