Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin is surprised by President Jagdeo’s comments on the reasons for the delay in the establishment of the Police Service Commission and the Teaching Service Com- mission.

He told Stabroek News that no formal consultations had yet taken place on the appointments provided for in the constitution. Corbin was reacting to the comments by President Jagdeo made on Wednesday over the delay in the constitution of the Teaching Service Commission.

Jagdeo said that he was prepared to have articles 200 and 207 of the constitution amended if the PNCR agrees to support an amendment to article 210 to correct an oversight when it was passed in 2001. The amendment to article 210 would add a provision allowing the President to appoint three persons after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. The amendments to articles 207 and 210 would, according to the President, accommodate a request by Corbin so that these provide for one of the three members the President appoints to both the Public Service Commission and the Teaching Service Commission to be persons the PNCR nominates.

Stabroek News understands that at meetings between the leaders, Corbin suggested a change in the constitutionally prescribed consultations that would allow both of them to put up names for consideration as required by the constitution for the various service commissions.

Corbin declined to confirm this saying only that he was preparing a response to the President’s proposal for amending the constitution with respect to the Police Service Commission.

He confirmed that as yet, there had been no consultations on the commissions in the manner prescribed by the constitution.

Answering questions from reporters on Wednesday at an Office of the President briefing, Jagdeo said that in the absence of the PNCR’s support for the amendments he was prepared to move ahead on the appointments to the commission in accordance with the constitution as it presently stood.

He said the amendments to article 210 of the constitution did not follow the recommendations of the Constitution Reform Commission and the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, which rendered the recommendations into legislative form. He conceded that the National Assembly had approved the amendments unanimously and he had assented to it. However, he said that his assent was based on advice that the provision allowing him to appoint three members after consultation had been included. The recommendation of the Parliamentary Oversight Commission provides for the President to appoint three other members after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

President Jagdeo told reporters that when he saw it had been left out he spoke with Corbin about it, informing him of his willingness to accommodate his request to name one of the three persons to be named by the President after consultation to the Public Service Commission and to the Teaching Service Commission, if they went back to Parliament to correct the oversight.

“... He had asked me that on the Teaching Service and on the Public Service Commission that he should have one of the three nominees and that all that is required is for the President to consult with the Leader of the Opposition and I had already given three names for each of these bodies. So he requested that the PNC should nominate or select one of these people. So I said to him if we go back to parliament to correct this oversight, then I’m prepared to accommodate his request at the Teaching Service Commission and at the Public Service Commission that of the three that the President has to consult with the Leader of the Opposition on, I will give him one of those. He said that he will get back to me on this and that’s when I left the country.”

However, Jagdeo said if Corbin turned down the proposal to amend the constitution to correct the oversight, “then we’ll proceed with the three names that I gave to him and conclude the consultation and then proceed with the appointment of the Teaching Service Commission.”

Jagdeo wrote to Corbin before he was elected Leader of the Opposition notifying him of his preparedness to act unilaterally in the appointment of the commissions and informed him of the names of the persons he proposed to appoint. He did so because of what he perceived as stalling by the PNCR leader in taking up the post as Leader of the Opposition to further delay the constitution of the service commissions.

Stabroek News has been informed that the President has not formally written to Corbin as Leader of the Opposition about consultations on the names of the persons he intends to appoint.

As amended the constitution now provides for a seven-member Teaching Service Commission. One of the seven is the Chief Education Officer [art. 207(3)], another is the nominee of the Guyana Teachers’ Union [art. 207(2)(a)], two others are appointed by the Minister of Local Government after he has consulted the local government bodies [art. 207(b)], three others are appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition [art. 207(2)(c)].

The Public Service Commission is comprised of six members, three of whom the President appoints after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition [art. 200)(1)(a)], two of whom are appointed upon nomination by the National Assembly [art. 200(1)(b) and one by the President if he deems it fit to do so [art. 200(1)(c)].

With regard to the Police Service Commission the law provides for a five-member commission, four of whom the Police Association nominates and from whom the President appoints the chairman after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. The fifth member is the chairman of the Public Service Commission.