President Bharrat Jagdeo will swear in the two remaining members of the Ethnic Relations Commission this morning.

They are Shahabudeen McDoom, the member nominated by the Moslem community and Leila Austin, the substitute member nominated by the women’s organisations.

This will clear the way for the Clerk of the National Assembly to convene a meeting of the Commission at which they will elect a chairman from among themselves. That meeting is likely to begin addressing a number of other matters including a work programme and other administrative matters.

The other members of the commission are Andrew Garnett and Carvil Duncan, representing the labour movement, Bishop Juan Edghill and Pastor Roy Thakurdyal representing the Christian community, Norman McLean and Joy Willems representing the private sector, Cheryl Sampson, the member representing the women’s movement, Pandit Ramkissoon Maraj and Radha Krishna Sharma representing the Hindu community and Rafeek Khan the other member representing the Moslem community, and Drs Frank Anthony and Rajendra Singh representing the youth movement.

The remaining features of the Ethnic Relations infrastructure are the appointment of the Ethnic Relations Tribunal, to which decisions of the commission could be appealed, and the establishment of a secretariat.

However, the appointment of this body must await the establishment of the Public Service Commission which must tender advice to the President on the appointment of two of the members of the Tribunal. The establishment of the secretariat will be addressed when a secretary to the commission is appointed and the commission draws up its work programme.