-Luncheon

The government will be moving to reconvene talks with the PNCR shortly so that a Chairman for the Integrity Commission could be named, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon says.

Responding to a question at a press briefing at the Office of the President last week, Luncheon said that the delay in naming the Chairman was because the government and the opposition had been unable to complete consultations on the matter.  The Commission has been without a Chairman since Bishop Randolph George resigned from the post in April 2006.

According to Luncheon, despite “a few rounds of consultations” being held, it would be “unlikely that the President will consider himself abiding with the statutory norms to go ahead and to identify and appoint a Chairman,” since these consultations have not been concluded.

Asked when the consultations will be concluded, Luncheon’s response was “I would guardingly say soon,” while stating that he could not speak for the Opposition Leader.

President Bharrat Jagdeo recently told reporters that there are several potential candidates for the post. He, however, did not identify any and said that the issue was not one he was following closely.

PNCR Leader Robert Corbin has criticised the administration for its failure to engage him on the Integrity Commission since May last year.  Corbin said after he became ill last May and was taken overseas for treatment, a letter was dispatched to the General Secretary of the PNCR communicating the administration’s anxiousness to conclude consultations with the Opposition Leader on the matter.  He said that since his return at the end of May, he has not been approached by the government on this issue.

Corbin rejected that there was an absence of political will on his part and said the non- constitution of the commission was totally the fault of the President. “I have no authority and I refuse to be maligned as [being] partly or in any way responsible for this delay since they are totally without my capacity,” Corbin said. “I have already told you that this is not something that I can initiate. It is within the full prerogative of the President. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Leader of the Opposition. That is why the matter was taken to the court…how the constitution is written there are clear guidelines of steps that should be taken for meaningful consultations,” Corbin stated. “Nowhere in the legislation can the person to be consulted initiate anything. It has to be initiated by the person responsible for consultation, who is the President,” he added.