Dear Editor,
I read with dismay an article on social media submitted by one of the public relations officers of the Top Cop stating that Police Constable, Troy Doris, was promoted to Cadet Officer after the Guyana Police Force engaged the Police Service Commission. According to the missive, the policeman recently obtained his pilot’s licence and was rewarded with the promotion by the Commission. I hasten to congratulate him for obtaining his pilot’s licence and nothing else. There was an attached photograph with the policeman dressed in his pilot’s uniform.
I asked myself, is this fake news. Was the writer, who usually gets the scoop, misled by his altruistic handlers? Why did the not lawfully and not duly constituted Police Service Commission led by Bishop Patrick Findley flagrantly violated the ruling of the Hon. Chief Justice? The Sunday Stabroek, January 15, 2023 cleared the air. According to the news outlet the acting Commissioner of Police will send a letter to the Police Service Commission recommending that Troy Doris be appointed a Cadet Officer.
In its present state, the not lawfully and not duly constituted Police Service Commission cannot promote any member of the Guyana Police Force. Flashback! June 23, 2023 in the case of Aubrey Norton v Attorney General et al, the Hon. Chief Justice ruled thus [in paragraph (2) of her judgement], “ It is hereby declared that in the absence of the appointment of the Chairman of the Public Service Com-mission to the Police Service Commission, subsequent to the expiration to the life and end of term of the previous Police Service Commission, the said Police Service Commission is not currently lawfully and duly constituted in accordance with article 210 of the Constitution of Guyana. In paragraph (6) the Hon. Chief Justice posited.”
“I hereby declare, that in order for the Police Service Commission to excercise any powers, functions, and other duties conferred on it by the Constitution of Guyana, it is a mandatory requirement that upon the life and term of the appointment of the previous Police Service Commission, that the Chairman of the Public Service Commission be appointed and he be made a member of the Police Service Commission in pursuant of article 210 (1) (b) of the Constitution of Guyana.”
There is still no Chairman of the Public Service Commission. Hence, the not lawfully and not duly constituted Police Service Commission cannot exercise any powers, functions and other duties as conferred on it by the Constitution of Guyana. The action by the not lawfully and not duly appointed Police Service Commission was a flagrant violation of the letter, spirit and intent of some of the most sacrosanct constitutional procedures. The present Commission has been breaching the ruling of the Chief Justice and operating like business as usual.
Sincerely,
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of Police
(Ret’d)