GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally has been asked by President Bharrat Jagdeo to resign from his post as Chairman of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).
Jagdeo told reporters today that the decision was not made because of “pressure” from any group, but rather to remove any excuse the main opposition parties might have to delay the elections this year.
He said that Surjubally was the unanimous choice when the fledging body was formed because of his expertise, noting that the position was simply to, “chair a board, and not receive any pay”.
“It’s a loss of a good solid skill because he is the foremost authority on livestock in the country, but just not give the PNC another excuse…cause I think this is the year when they will start looking for excuses”, the President said.
The President said that Surjubally confirmed to him in conversation today that all the opposition leaders were consulted on the GLDA appointment, and that no one made any objections. Jagdeo named Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin among the leaders Surjubally spoke with and according to him “Corbin never said a word objecting to it”.
The PNCR on Friday said it was being suggested that the party had been consulted on Surujbally’s appointment and approved of it, but that it gave no such endorsement.
Below is the story that appeared in today’s edition.
The Ministry of Agriculture has approached the Attorney General’s Chambers for a “legal intrepretation” on the appointment of GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally as Chairman of the fledgling Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).
This was revealed on Saturday by Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud in a comment to Stabroek News on public concerns that as Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission, Surujbally is prohibited from taking up other employment.
Noting that the Ministry of Agriculture had “proffered an initial response which delineated its opinion and having had the benefit of public discourse, (the ministry) has approached the Attorney General’s Chambers for a legal interpretation regarding Dr Surujbally’s appointment to the Board of Directors of the GLDA.” It is unclear why such an opinion was not sought earlier.
Persaud’s comment appeared to refer to the earlier position from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Dindyal Permaul in a letter to Stabroek News on December 30, 2010 that Surujbally’s appointment to the GLDA could not be considered as employment. Article 161 of the constitution prohibits the GECOM chairman from taking up any other form of employment.
Persaud noted that “Within recent weeks, public interest has been shown in the newspapers with respect particularly to the appointment of Dr. Steve Surujbally as Chairman of the first Board of Directors of the newly created Guyana Livestock Deve-lopment Authority (GLDA). An editorial (SN January 3rd 2011) raised Dr. Surujbally’s appointment to the GLDA as one involving Article 161 of the Guyana Constitution, among other arguments advanced against such an appointment.”
Persaud said a few other opinions, clarifications and recommendations have been discerned from published letters and that the main opposition PNCR had joined the ranks of those questioning Surujbally’s appointment.
Referring to newspaper reports, the PNCR on Friday said it was being suggested that it had been consulted on Surujbally’s appointment and approved of it. Party executive Amna Ally said the PNCR gave no such endorsement.
“In any event, at the time the information was made known to the PNCR, the Letter of appointment, dated 16 August 2010 and signed by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Robert Persaud had already been issued to Mr. Surujbally indicating that Cabinet had previously approved his appointment. In these circumstances it is difficult to fathom that Cabinet would have made such an appointment before consultation with the proposed appointee,” she contended.
When he was contacted about the PNCR’s position, Surujbally stated that he had consulted his lawyers on the issue and was advised that he had done nothing wrong. “Let them go to the courts if they feel it’s illegal,” he declared. He said he had written and met the leaders of the parliamentary parties months ago advising them of his appointment and had sought feedback on whether they objected but to date he has received no response.
Addressing the issue of employment with the GLDA, he said that he was not receiving “a red cent” and had stated in a letter to the agriculture minister that he would not be “beholden” to him and that any “symbolic stipend” should go towards the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Dr. Surujbally said he would have to dedicate “one time per month for two hours” to the GLDA chairmanship duties. “Have I done something wrong that I should step down? Is it breaking the law? I think not!” he stated.
Surujbally also accused Stabroek News of provoking the issue with the publication of an anonymous letter on December 28, which among other things queried whether the appointment of a GLDA Chairman had been concluded.
In yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, veteran politician and activist Eusi Kwayana said Surujbally’s appointment as GLDA Chairman was a “non-starter”. He added “It will not do for the Chair of the Guyana Elections Commission to be seen as knowingly flouting the constitution.”
He stated that the requirement that the office be a full-time one was added to basic law by the Constitutional Reform Committee, a multiparty body, and approved by the National Assembly. “There can be no doubt about the intention of the law-makers. I hope this is not an act of ‘democratic centralism’ approved by the PPP’s higher organs. Has the cabinet power to amend the constitution?
“What the elections commission needs is not less attention from its Chairman, the only full-time member, but empowerment with financial self control, subject only to the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Com-mittee”, Kwayana added.
Former member of the Constitution Reform Com-mission Dr Rupert Roopnaraine urged in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek that Surujbally give up his appointment as Chairman of the GLDA.
Speaking to Stabroek News briefly on Saturday, Dr Roopnaraine said he hoped the GECOM chairman would decline the GLDA appointment since it could give rise to controversy which is the last thing needed in an election year .
“I am hoping that Steve sees the wisdom in declining this and concentrating on getting this thing off the ground,” he said. Roopnaraine stated that the Constitution is “fairly clear” on the issue of employment and added that Surujbally’s full attention would be required for his duties at GECOM.
Ironic
In his comment on Friday, the Agriculture Minister said “It is rather ironic that Dr. Surujbally who was appointed under the Forbes Burnham Administration to head the National Dairy Development Programme (NDDP) in the early 1980’s is now seen as someone who should be denied an opportunity to contribute to a fledgling organisation, the GLDA, under which the NDDP is now subsumed.
For his part, Dr. Surujbally is of the opinion that those who feel his appointment is illegal should approach the courts”. Observers have pointed out that the concerns over the appointment do not relate to Dr Surujbally’s expertise but the prohibition against any other employment as Chairman of GECOM.
Persaud added that the nascent GLDA is still “going through its birth pangs. Staff from three separate units, the NDDP, the Animal Services Division of the Crops and Livestock Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Livestock Pasture Department of The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) have been offered employment and have all accepted. In keeping with Cabinet’s Decision, their full benefits earned under previous dispensation are being mediated by a number of agencies, including the Public Service Ministry, Public Service Commission and other government entities in which GLDA employees would have served.”
Persaud stated that at all stages in the formation of the GLDA, the unions namely, the Guyana Public Service Union and the Union of Agriculture and
Allied Workers were involved in several consultations.
“Indeed, all workers and interest groups in livestock have been actively consulted and are scheduled for ongoing discussions regarding livestock development matters”, Persaud declared.
He said the GLDA has arisen from a modern piece of legislation in which corporate responsibilities are clearly demarcated and shared.
“The Chairman, the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer and the Staff have a mandate to promote greater efficiency in the livestock product industry and to provide enhanced services in livestock industry, livestock health and research and to make provision for effective administration and regulation of trade, commerce and export of livestock and livestock products.”
Persaud argued that the entity is organized on the bases that make up an arms-length or semiautonomous agency, a model he said that has received support from successive governments in Guyana over many decades.
“The chairpersons of these entities historically have come from resident, qualified Guyanese who hold full time jobs in the Public Sector. Until now, this principle and indeed custom and practice have produced desirable
results in the more than one dozen such agencies which fall under the remit of the Ministry of Agriculture. If the time has come now for us to reconfigure our practices in this administrative area, we will be guided”, he said.
