Retired judge Stanley Moore is leading a special team assembled by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) to probe a complaint about the hiring practices at the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
The ERC yesterday said in a statement that Human Resources Consultant Jairam Petam and former Deputy Commissioner of Police Lloyd Smith are the other members of the team, which had been initially been given three weeks to investigate and submit a report.
However, it noted that the members of the team requested an extension, which had been granted. “The ERC will provide further details as they become available,” it added.
The statement did not say how long of an extension was granted or when the team began its work.
The special investigation was launched after a complaint was lodged by the three opposition-nominated GECOM Commissioners, Robeson Benn, Bibi Shadick and Sase Gunraj, who wrote the ERC in June, asking for an inquiry to be done at the earliest opportunity and that the report be made public.
The opposition-nominated commissioners based their request on an allegation by Benn about the lack of ethnic diversity in the composition of the workforce at GECOM, particularly senior management.
This issue, they had said in a letter to the ERC, “was canvassed several times at Commission meetings, including at a meeting between the full Commission and an electoral needs assessment team from the United Nations.”
Benn has publicly claimed that up to 90 percent of the senior management of GECOM is of Afro-Guyanese descent and that this was unhealthy. GECOM Chairman James Patterson has challenged the figure.
Patterson’s use of his casting vote in order to hire Roxanne Myers, the second ranked candidate for the post of Deputy Chief Election Officer, over the first ranked candidate, Vishnu Persaud, who had served in the post for three years, was also cited in the complaint.
The opposition-nominated commissioners said, “In all other instances of recruitment in the recent process, all the first ranked candidates were appointed.”
The issue, they said, “is clearly indicative of a larger issue” at GECOM, “which has an adverse effect on ethnic relations and harmony in Guyana.”
Meanwhile, the statement said that since its re-establishment earlier in the year, the ERC has continued in its efforts to engage national stakeholders across the country.
It noted that the Com-mission recently met with senior officials of the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, and both the Guyana Fire and Prison services. Councillors of the Regional Democratic Councils of Regions Two, Three, Five and Ten were also visited by the ERC at their respective offices.
“Meaningful discussions on the promotion of harmony, unity and good relations were held and agreements reached for collaboration on this national venture,” the body said, before adding that suggestions were also offered for the ERC’s consideration in delivering its mandate.
Similar meetings are planned for other regions this month, it added.
