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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