Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton says he is prepared to agree to the immediate appointing of Justices Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Roxane George-Wiltshire as Chancellor and Chief Justice respectively, a move that puts the PPP/C government on the spot in relation to the long-awaited substantive appointments.
Norton’s disclosure came in a letter of yesterday’s date to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira in which he declined to attend a meeting with President Irfaan Ali on the grounds that he had been given short notice and had other commitments.
Yesterday’s meeting would have been the second between two leaders. President Ali yesterday issued a video statement chiding Norton for not showing up for the meeting and accusing him of “unwillingness” and “immaturity” in dealing with issues of national importance.
“…In my opinion the Leader of the Opposition has demonstrated his unwillingness, has demonstrated his immaturity in dealing with important national issues,” Ali said during a statement which was broadcast on his Facebook page. The President was accompanied by Attorney General, Anil Nandall SC.
On May 27th, Teixeira invited Norton to a meeting with Ali yesterday at 2 pm to continue the consultation. The letter was delivered to Congress Place and Norton was also informed that in the event that he is unable to attend the meeting, he could send his contributions in writing.
In his letter to Teixeira declining the invitation, Norton said the letter of invitation was received late in the evening of May 27th. “That apart, I am unavailable to accept the aforesaid invitation having regard to certain commitments and (a) pressing schedule”. He provided no other details on this.
“In any event, if my schedule did permit me to attend, I draw to your attention that I am not yet in receipt of the grounds upon which each specific recommendation for appointment is being made. This is necessary if there is to be meaningful consultation in keeping with the Constitution,” Norton said.
Teixeira had previously told Stabroek News that there is no requirement for the President to provide justification for the persons he nominates.
Norton also disclosed that he had previously indicated to Ali that he is committed to agreeing to the immediate appointment of Justices Cummings- Edwards and George-Wiltshire as the Chancellor and Chief Justice, respectively. This had not been disclosed before. The long absence of substantive appointments to the top judicial posts has been repeatedly commented on by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Guyana Bar Association and other sections of the legal fraternity. Several weeks ago, President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders voiced his hope that the substantive appointments could be made before the end of the year.
“Your statement that the President is not prepared at this time to engage in consultations on this matter of supreme Constitutional importance comes over as a gross dereliction of his Constitutional duty and a clear indication that he is non-responsive to the concerns of Civil Society and the people of Guyana,” Norton said in the letter. His statement in the letter would suggest that Teixeira had said that the President was not yet ready to address those appointments.
“I once again urge that consultations which will result in the confirmation of the Chancellor (ag) and Chief Justice (ag) be placed on the Agenda in this round of consultations”, Norton said.
Norton also condemned the failure of the government to convene a second meeting between the two leaders within a week as had been agreed in the Joint Statement of May 13th after the first engagement.
He said the expiration of the period for the second consultation and without prior communication was testimony to government’s disregard of agreements it concludes and a manifestation of bad faith.
“The purported excuses offered in your letter of the 27th day of May, 2022, for not holding the consultation `within a week’, that I `must be aware that Guyana hosted the first Agri Investment Forum and Expo on May, 19th – 21st, 2022’ and that this was `followed by the national and regional celebrations of 56th Independence Anniversary’ are devoid of credibility and disconcerting,” Norton said in the letter.
“Clearly, when the President was making the Agreement he had to know that he had those engagements since they were planned long before our engagement. I hesitate to think that the President made an agreement while knowing full well that he was unavailable. Such actions are either a manifestation of incompetence or a disregard for his and others constitutional responsibilities. Whatever the cause, it is unacceptable,” Norton argued.
It is unclear if the President later saw Norton’s letter but in his video statement, Ali noted that the time was 2.34 pm and that the Opposition Leader had not turned up.
“These are important national issues and I want them completed in an environment of respect and an environment of dignity because as I have said before I am pursuing ‘One Guyana’. It is clear to me that those aspirations of mine may not be shared by Mr Norton because he did not have the dignity, the professionalism to even respond orally or in writing to an invitation by the Office of the President,” Ali stated.
“..We have received no verbal or oral communication from the Leader of the Opposition or his office. In addition to his absence at this meeting, we have not received any communication from the Leader of the Opposition….Not only did he not attend today but he has not provided anything in writing,” he added.
At their first meeting on May 13 Norton had requested all of the Curriculum Vitae (CVs) of the proposed nominees to be presented.
Ali said yesterday that the commitment was fulfilled within the time frame and on May 16 a total of 14 names were provided.
“…All those CVs were presented within the timeframe we committed to present them to the Leader of the Opposition and that was the only request at that physical meeting,” Ali said.
“On the morning of May 16, 2022, the CVs of 14 persons were provided ….in keeping with (Norton’s) request. These included the nominee for the Judicial Service Commission, the four nominees for the Police Service Commission which were approved unanimously by the Committee of Appointments and the National Assembly,” he explained.
“If this is the approach of the Leader of the Opposition, I have no problems with that. My approach is to move this country forward. Our approach in this Government is to take our country forward in keeping with the Constitutional requirement and we will not have those requirements held up, or held hostage by political object,” Ali yesterday said.
The joint statement issued after the May 13th meeting revealed that there was correspondence between the two sides prior to the meeting and that the CVs for constitutional appointees were to be provided to the Leader of the Opposition.
“The Consultations in respect of the appointments of persons to constitutional and statutory commissions, were initiated between His Excellency President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament, Mr. Aubrey C. Norton by letter under the hand of the Hon. Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance and Member of Parliament, dated April 29, 2022. This letter fixed today, the 13th May at 15:00h, for an in person consultation,” the joint statement informed.
“…Prior to today’s meeting, the Leader of the Opposition by letter dated 9th May 2022, requested details of the appointments to be made. Minister Teixeira responded on 11 May, 2022 providing the details of the Commissions and the names of the persons who are the subject of the consultations to be appointed to those Commissions. These are Integrity Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, Police Service Commission and Teaching Service Commission. The Leader of the Opposition in a letter dated the 12th May, requested further information regarding the names under consideration. On the same day Minister Teixeira responded requesting specificity on the information that is being requested. At the meeting held today, the Leader of the Opposition clarified that the information that is being requested are the Curriculum Vitae (CV’s) of the persons under consideration and the President agreed to make those CV’s available within two days,” it added.
The statement said that during the meeting, it was further agreed that the “consultations will be guided by the Constitution and the in-person consultations will resume on a date to be fixed, but within a week”.
Ali had refused to meet the previous Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon on the grounds that he did not recognise the government. That condition was later dropped but there was no meeting as the PNCR held internal elections and Harmon was defeated in the contest for party leader by Norton. Harmon subsequently resigned under pressure from within the PNCR but it would be weeks before Norton was officially added to the opposition parliamentary lineup. He was then elected Opposition Leader.
Clifton Hicken was recently appointed by Ali to act as Commissioner of Police while the judiciary has been without a substantive Chancellor for 17 years.
