Opposition Commissioners argue ERC report into GECOM’s hiring practices sabotaged

May 22, 2019 News

The report by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) into the hiring practices of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has

Opposition Commissioner, Robeson Benn

been entered into the commission’s record, according to government-aligned commissioner Vincent Alexander, and no decision has been made to take action otherwise, unless it is discussed at another statutory meeting of the Commission.
But Opposition-aligned Commissioner Robeson Benn argued, during yesterday’s meeting, that the issues which prompted the investigation can’t be concluded on, due to the “non-appearances” of three key persons named by the sub-committee in the report. They are Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Roxanne Myers; Human Resources Manager, Marcia Crawford; and GECOM Chairman, Justice James Patterson who, according to the report, failed to produce documents concerning the alleged “shiftiness” of Vishnu Persaud, the person who Myers was chosen over for Deputy Chief Elections Officer.
The three persons (Myers, Crawford and Patterson) reportedly were required to and had promised to make available the necessary information, and the report stated that the failure to cooperate with the investigation couldn’t be anything other than deliberate and willful.
“So in effect,” Benn told reporters, “the work of the ERC on this report – the true intent and results which one would have expected – were sabotaged by no other persons than the Chairman of the Commission, who promised to provide documentation, though he now says he gave instructions that that information should be provided.”
Commissioner Sase Gunraj told reporters he found it disappointing that staffers of the Commission would so flagrantly disobey an instruction by the Chairman to provide documents necessary for the investigation.
Benn said that the issues that prompted the investigation can’t stand as resolved, because of these non-appearances, as “these are very important and critical issues in respect of the work of the Commission and in respect of how we go forward in our country.”
One of the concerns was that there may be an ethnic bias influencing the hiring practices of GECOM.
Due to this concern, Opposition Commissioners, according to Alexander, were arguing for some sort of “compromise” to be afforded to Vishnu Persaud by, among other things, considering the idea of hiring him to another post.
Gunraj stopped short of concurring with that proposal. He said that though he didn’t suggest hiring Persaud to another post, having someone with the experience and training of Persaud would be an asset; one that he believes should be seriously considered if it is still made available to the commission.
But Alexander said that he doesn’t see the basis for such a “compromise” because the ERC report was “unequivocal” in the conclusion that there was no evidence of ethnic bias in the recruitment of Myers.
Commissioner Gunraj also raised the issue of “non-appearance” by the three individuals listed in the report. He said that such failure to provide information is of particular importance.
Asked whether action would be taken against the Human Resources Officer for not handing over information, Gunraj said it was proposed that the matter be dealt with by the Admin and Finance Sub-committee, a body which deals with Human Resource matters.
“Another proposal is that we further discuss this matter at the Commission level, first of all, to ascertain the veracity of those positions that are contained in that report and thereafter what steps are to be taken.”
Gunraj, for one, has indicated that he holds firm in the view that penalties should be attracted for failure to comply with the investigation’s undertakings.
Even so, no decision has been made in that regard.
Gunraj said that, since much of GECOM’s discussions yesterday were about the appointment of Myers, she was excused from the meeting.

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