The United National Congress (UNC) has challenged President Paula-Mae Weekes to come clean about the role her office played in the current imbroglio involving Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, the Police Service Commission (PSC) and former police commissioner Gary Griffith.
Speaking during UNC’s weekly virtual media briefing yesterday, Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said, “The President, now more than ever, must account to the people. Silence is simply not an option.”
Calling for clarity in light of Rowley’s admission on Saturday that he had been communicating with the commission during the past year, during which time he expressed a vote of no confidence in Griffith as commissioner– Lutchmedial said for Weekes to remain silent on such critical issues, it could be interpreted that, “The President is bringing the office she holds into disrepute by appearing to be partisan.”
Indicating the UNC was not leveling such an allegation, Lutchmedial said in law, justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done.
She added, “You must not only be non-partisan but you must appear that way to the public. The public must have that confidence that the Office of the Prime Minister sits above the politics and has no fear or favour in how they exercise their functions and duties.”
Claiming similar calls for accountability had emanated from other quarters and could not be ignored, Lutchmedial said, “The public has lost confidence in the PSC, in their independence.”
Describing as troubling that for the first time in T&T’s history that it was without a police commissioner or an acting police commissioner, and there was no commission to appoint a commissioner—she went on, “The authors of this debacle must be held to account.”
Noting the published statement in the daily newspaper by the President yesterday, Lutchmedial said the country has many unanswered questions.
Adding that the UNC would not allow the rantings of a mad man to stop them from fulfilling its mandate to deliver the country from the dictatorial clutches of Rowley, she said, “Our country is falling apart, literally. Roads and bridges are falling apart but our institutions are also crumbling.”
As a former criminal attorney, Lutchmedial said Rowley, along with others had now been caught out in their lies and had no other option but to, “rant and rave and create as many distractions, diversions and excuses as possible, because they can no longer deny the role they played in a very disturbing saga.”
Outlining the chronology of events, Lutchmedial said in 2020 —the then CoP Griffith, “had stood up to the PM and rightly so I believe, to tell him that his interpretation of police powers under the Public Health Regulations was wrong, that the TTPS could not entre private property and so on.”
She added, “You would recall that Mr Griffith was summoned to a meeting shortly thereafter, and he then apologised. Now interestingly, the Government ended up having to declare a State of Emergency for the same reason that commissioner Griffith highlighted, so that alone tells you he was right.”
“I shudder to think that as a PM someone would be so petty, but it would appear that if Rowley says jump and you don’t ask “how high” that he will lose confidence in you. Perhaps Rowley lost confidence in his ability to control the CoP. Perhaps he realised then that he could not get the CoP to follow his commands and this did not sit well with him, so he embarked on what would appear to be a campaign against the CoP and so he started interfacing with the PolSC.”
Lutchmedial said Rowley, “astonishingly says that there is an element of interaction built into the independence of our institutions. This is how he justifies an attempt to influence the PolSC in the exercise of their functions under the constitution. He further states that he does not have to pass through the president to get the Commission to do anything. He can do it himself. He is so boldfaced, that he is boasting that he can and will and already has utilised his office to feed information to what ought to be independent institutions.”
Declaring this to be “hogwash,” she added, “This is how you are justifying an attempt to influence the PolSC in the exercise of their functions under the Constitution.”
She also questioned if the PSC had ever been informed of the fact-finding mission that Rowley’s two hand-picked retirees had been sent on, and if the contents of that exercise had been shared with the entire commission or only with former chairman of the commission Bliss Seepersad.
Claiming Seepersad had been a political appointee who had been serving on another State board when she was selected to head the independent PSC, Lutchmedial reminded the nation that the UNC had voiced objections when Seepersad’s recommendation was initially brought up.
“The country is now witnessing the aftermath of that very poor decision,” she said.
“This story which the PM has so helpfully exposed for himself, justifies all of the concerns raised by the Opposition in the past few weeks. There was clearly a concerted effort on the part of politicians to influence the decisions of the service commission.”
In reinforcing the call for Weekes to speak out, Lutchmedial argued, “The President appointed the PSC. If the PSC had information passed to them or to the chairman by a politician who was complaining about the CoP, the President had a duty to advise them about the proper manner to proceed.”
Regarding Seepersad, she said, “Bliss Seepersad cannot and will not be allowed to simply slip out of this melee without being held accountable for her very questionable conduct.”
“The PolSC chairman must say whether she shared her information from Rowley with the other members—Roger Kawalsingh’s letter to the President suggested that they were left in the dark.”
Seepersad, according to Kawalsingh went to retired Justice Stanley John and spoke with him without their knowledge.
Indicating that Seepersad had also made a unilateral decision to suspend Griffith from the acting appointment, without consultation, Lutchmedial said, “It raises very serious questions about who was advising or instructing her.”
In a full-page advertisement yesterday, Weekes assured, “I assure the nation that neither the OTP nor I participated in, allowed, or encouraged any attempted or actual improper interference, influence or breach of the principle of separation of powers in the operation of the PolSC in the matter of the Commissioner of Police. I did not receive instructions or suggestions from any individual, nor did I give any to the PolSC. I certainly did not wilfully violate any provision of the Constitution nor have I behaved in a way that could lead one reasonably to conclude that I have brought the OTP into hatred, ridicule or contempt or endangered the security of the State.”