No barrier to appointing Hicken as substantive police commissioner – Ali

Last Updated on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, 8:56 by Writer

President Irfaan Ali said Tuesday night that nothing in Guyana’s Constitution or laws prohibit him from appointing Assistant Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken as substantive police commissioner although he has reached retirement age of 55 years.

“There is no barrier legally or constitutionally from appointing him,” he told Demerara Waves Online News. Told that Mr Hicken has reached retirement age, Dr Ali said the acting police commissioner’s “tenure was extended so there is no barrier.”

Dr Ali, however, declined to say how long would Mr Hicken remain in office after he is appointed as substantive head of the law enforcement agency. “That’s a different question,” he remarked without responding. It was not immediately clear whether a substantively appointed Hicken would continue in office until after Guyana’s 2025 general and regional elections or would demit office soon after so that he would become eligible for retirement benefits as police commissioner.

The President also seemed set to appoint assistant commissioners Ravindradat Budram, Fazal Karimbaksh, Errol Watts and Simon McBean to the post of deputy police commissioner.

Earlier Tuesday night, Attorney General Anil Nandlall said on his Facebook commentary, Issues In The News, that President Ali has “scrupulously followed the letter and spirit of the Constitution” in his engagement with Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton. “There is nothing improper and nothing illegal and nothing unconstitutional that the President has done thus far in respect of these impending appointments,” he said. While Mr Norton is on record as saying that he had no meaningful consultations, the Attorney General said there was no need for a face-to-face meeting or oral engagement.

Human Resources Consultant, Earl John on Monday said “there is no precedent for it in which you could get promoted while you are actually retired.” Mr Hicken was appointed to act as police commissioner in March, 2022 when he was 53 years old but he reached the mandatory retirement age of 55 in July, 2023.

In responding to Mr Norton’s refusal to support Mr Hicken’s appointment on the grounds of corruption and other types of maladministration of the police force during the acting police commissioner’s tenure, Minister of Governance Gail Teixeira had said there was a significant decrease in serious crimes, improved public confidence in the police force, the overall enhanced performance of the force, and, in particular, the performance of Mr. Hicken. She had also said that the President concluded that it is in the public interest and in the interest of national security to appoint him substantive police commissioner.