Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo announced moments ago that his government is hoping to soon finalize appointments for various service commissions by the end of this month.
Jagdeo’s timeline is expected to place pressure on the main parliamentary opposition to select its leader within the shortest possible time since appointments of members to service commissions are required to be made after consultations between the President and the Opposition Leader.
Joseph Harmon recently resigned as Opposition Leader following clamour from the PNCR Executive Committee that Aubrey Norton – the new PNCR Leader – must take the lead. Harmon lost to Norton during the party’s last biennial congress.
Referencing Harmon’s defeat, Jagdeo said he had long suspected that consultation with the former Opposition Leader was a waste of time, and that his loss at the congress has ‘vindicated’ the PPP’s view.
Jagdeo said that the President stands ready to consult with the new Opposition Leader to operationalize those dormant commissions, which he anticipates should be back in operation by the end of this month.
“Now they are in the process of electing a new Leader of the Opposition. So, once that person is in place, we anticipate that by the end of February, we should have all of the Service Commissions in place. So, the President will consult with the Leader of the Opposition on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and putting it back in place; the Public Service Commission (PSC), and the Teaching Service Commission (TSC),” he noted.
The VP added that four names for the Police Service Commission have already been approved by Parliament’s Committee of Appointment. Those names will then be referred to the President, Dr Irfaan Ali.
Jagdeo said that he “suspects” that once those names are sent to the President, the Head of State will proceed immediately to appoint the Commissioners.
