President Ali wanted to influence police promotion list – Paul Slowe

Jun 01, 2021 News

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– Head of State denies allegation

By Shervin Belgrave

Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Paul Slowe, yesterday claimed that President Irfaan Ali wanted to influence the annual year-end promotion of senior ranks in the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

Slowe, who is also a retired Assistant Commissioner of the Force, made his claim during a press conference he held via zoom.
Ali has since denied Slowe’s allegations in a statement that was sent out a few hours after the press conference ended.
The PSC’s promotion list was placed on a temporary hold when the Chief Justice, (Ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire, granted an order to halt the procedure on December 31, 2020. This was after Senior Superintendent, Calvin Brutus, who was reportedly overlooked by the PSC for promotion, had moved to the High Court to block the Force’s promotions until the decision to not promote him is recanted.The order instructed that the current status quo in the GPF remain until the matter, which was filed to challenge the PSC’s procedure for promotion, is heard. Slowe related yesterday, that before the whole court case surrounding the police promotion fiasco started, he had some encounters with Ali regarding the year-end promotion.

He said that the first was a meeting between him and Ali on September 16, 2020.
According to Slowe, during that meeting Ali tried to persuade him to use his (Slowe) influence in the PSC to promote some senior officers in the Force.
The PSC chairman named two of them as Senior Superintendents, Calvin Brutus and Fazil Karimbaksh. “It was clear at that meeting that the President wanted me to use my influence at the Commission to have those persons promoted,” he related.
Slowe said that he had reminded Ali, that there is a process which must be followed before persons are promoted. “I advised the President that the Commission has certain rules; one of those rules is that, if a person has a pending disciplinary matter, the person is not eligible for promotion,” Slowe stated.
He related that both Brutus and Karimbaksh have disciplinary matters pending before the Commission. Slowe further alleged that Ali had even tried to “butter him up” in the attempts to persuade him. “He started off the meeting by saying that he wanted me to return as Chairman of the Commission. I was told that he was instituting a Police Reform Commission and he wanted me to be part of that Commission. He even told me how much respect he has for me and how the members of the PPP/C (People’s Progressive Party/Civic) respected me,” Slowe added.
The PSC, according Slowe, had moved ahead to shortlist some recommended names from the GPF for promotion on December 23, last. It is believed that someone from within the PSC had leaked the document with the shortlisted names and it was sent to Ali. Slowe alleged that on that same day during the evening hours, he received a phone call from the President.
He described the telephone conversation as a “rough one” and said that Ali was angry and wanted to know why “his people not on the list.”
“He wanted to know why it is that “his people” not on the list and I’m quoting him here; “his people” – Brutus and Karimbaksh were not on the shortlist.”
Slowe continued, “I went through the same thing with him about the disciplinary process and he was very upset. He said that “look the people have disciplinary matters, how long will they be pending? Why are they not completed so that the people can be considered for promotion?”
He added that immediately after the conversation, he notified the other members of the Commission about his “unpleasant encounter” with the President.
But Slowe’s allegations were described by President Ali as disingenuous. “I find it convenient and opportunistic that Mr. Paul Slowe would make the accusation that I tried to influence him and the work of the Police Service Commission. This is not only far from the truth, but it is a malicious attempt to change the narrative.”
In the statement Ali confirmed, the September 16 meeting with Slowe but claimed that it was not to influence promotions.
Instead, Ali said, “I raised various concerns with him that was brought to my attention without prejudice.”
The President, however, did not address the accusation regarding the “angry phone call” he allegedly made to Slowe on December 23.
Slowe’s press conference was organised to focus on his response to a “show cause notice” that was sent to him by the Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips. According to reports, Phillips had written to Slowe and another member of the PSC, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clinton Conway, to show cause why he should not advice the President to have them removed.
The letter was sent to them after investigations conducted by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) revealed that Slowe, Conway and others – some of them retired high-ranking policemen and some ranks still serving the GPF – allegedly conspired to defraud the Force of over $10M.
Slowe, although not present in the country, was charged jointly with the others with conspiracy to defraud the Force. The PSC Chairman is also being accused of sexually assaulting a female Assistant Superintendent of the Force on three occasions and is expected to present himself for questioning at the GPF’s Gender Based Violence Unit.
Slowe, during his press conference, denied both allegations.

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