PM SAYS HE CAN RAISE HIS CONCERNS TO PolSC

CCNTV6

An Opposition MP told the Parliament today that if the process for the appointment of an Acting Police Commissioner is not done right and is challenged in Court it could affect the appointment of an Acting Deputy Police Commissioner .   This, as the Prime Minister also declared he has the right in his official capacity to provide any pertinent information to the Police Service Commission.   Juhel Browne report

Transcript

00:00Following the debate of the motion of the notification from the President of

00:04the Police Service Commission's nomination of Deputy Police Commissioner

00:07Junior Benjamin to act as Police Commissioner, the House of

00:10Representatives debated another recommendation from the Police Service

00:14Commission. Given the action it has taken on the matter which has just

00:20attracted our attention which is the suspension of the Commissioner of Police

00:27and the recommendation to appoint Mr. Simon, Mr. Benjamin who is substantively

00:38a Deputy Commissioner by elevating a Deputy Commissioner to act as

00:44Commissioner that establishes a vacancy at the level of Deputy Commissioner. The

00:52Prime Minister said that the Police Service Commission had recommended

00:55Assistant Police Commissioner could Simon to act as a Deputy Police

00:59Commissioner. Barataria San Juan MP Saddam Hussein raised the concern on

01:03behalf of the opposition. If that nomination of Mr. Benjamin is not

01:07properly made everything falls after that it's a domino effect so if the

01:12legality of that is challenged then the legality of this will also be a

01:17consequential order that the court will make. MP Hussein responded to the Prime

01:22Minister's explanation about why the Police Service Commission could not

01:26issue such acting appointments on its own because the opposition did not

01:31support a bill meant to allow for that to occur. But that legislation that came

01:36to the Parliament was not just for Deputy Commissioner of Police but it was

01:40also for the Acting Commissioner of Police and that is a bill that we did

01:46not support simply because we have no trust in this government when it comes

01:50to interference with respect to law enforcement because Madam Speaker how

01:56can we have confidence in a government who brings a bill like that when high

02:00public officials loiter around the President's House at times where merit

02:05lists are delivered at that location.

02:09House Speaker Bridget Anisot George intervened. Member I hope that's just an

02:15introduction and you're going to go on because we're not dealing with

02:17legislation. Yes? Let's go. MP Hussein continued with his contribution. The

02:23Prime Minister responded to MP Hussein's apparent reference to a matter

02:27regarding the order of merit list for Police Commissioner a few years ago.

02:31Because I didn't want my colleague from Barter to not understand what I was

02:37saying so I'll repeat it. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago as

02:41Chairman of the National Security Council is duty-bound in law settled by

02:49the Privy Council to make available to the Police Service Commission any

02:54information or pertinent matter which has to do with the remit of the Police

02:59Service Commission. However the Prime Minister said he does not give any

03:03instructions or directions to the Police Service Commission.

03:06Jule Brown TV6 News

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