Three persons, recently nominated by the Parliamentary Committee of Appointments to sit on the new Police Service Commission, were sworn in on Tuesday by President Irfaan Ali at his Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown office.
This means that the Commission, which expired in August 2021, is now reconstituted and can restart its work.
The four new members of the Police Service Commission are Bishop Patrick Findlay, attorney Lloyd Mark Conway, businessmen Hakeem Mohammed and Ernesto Choo-a-Fat.
Bishop Findlay took the Oath as Chairman of the Commission.
Mohammed was unavoidably absent from the event on Tuesday and will take the Oath of Office at a later date.
These names were agreed to on December 15, 2021, following an extensive consultation process spanning two months.
The life of each Commission runs for three consecutive years. The President is allowed to appoint the four members following nominations from the National Assembly; consultations with the Guyana Police Force are also a requirement and that was done.
These new nominations were made following a contentious end to the life of the last Commission chaired by retired former senior cop, Paul Slowe.
President Ali had suspended the entire PSC on June 16, 2021, but the life of the Commission came to an end in August 2021.
When the new Commission is fully constituted with five members and appointed, there are several outstanding issues to be addressed.
It includes the promotion of ranks within the Guyana Police Force and the ongoing constitutional action in the Court against the President’s move to suspend the PSC.
