Parliament yesterday passed a motion on the composition of the Public Service Commis-sion (PSC), amidst PNCR objections to the creation of a labour body through which one of the nominees was proposed.
The motion, put forward by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Gail Teixeira, had as its resolve the adoption of the fourth report of the Appointive Committee addressing the appointment of Members of Commissions. This report signifies to the President the names of David Leslie L. Melville and Dr Kissoon as its choice to be appointed to the PSC. The PSC comprises 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)].
The PSC was one of the four commissions still to be formed as changes to how nominees are selected was under discussion between Leader of the Opposition, Robert Corbin and President Bharrat Jagdeo. With the commission in place critical appointments to public service positions can be made. When the vote came, the PNCR MPs declined to vote and the motion was passed by the government's majority.
PNCR back bencher James McAllister said that to vote for the motion would be to lend legitimacy to the process which led to the submission of the names of the nominees. But he added that in the interest of the PSC being constituted, he and the other members of the PNCR did not vote against the motion.
Members of the PNCR and the Guyana Action Party/ Working People's Alliance (GAP/WPA) expressed their dissatisfaction over the process of the selection of one of the appointees, Dr Kissoon. He was the candidate put forward by the Public Service Senior Staff Association (PSSSA), a group only recently formed. The PSSA represents the permanent secretaries, heads of departments and accounting officers of agencies not under the control of ministries and such other officers as the PSSA secretariat determines that it should represent.
James McAllister
The other nominees put forward but eventually discarded by the Appointive Committee were Lt. Col. Joseph Harmon, who along with Melville were proposed by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU); Harry Narine Nawbatt, who was on the list of nominees of the PSSSA and Earl Aloysius Welch, who was submitted by the Federated Union of Government Employees (FUGE).
Both the PNCR and the WPA argued that the PSSSA was created for the sole purpose of putting up a nominee favourable to the government. McAllister called the PSSSA a "phantom union" of which no one had heard.
During a recess that Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran, called over the ringing of cell phones in the Parliamentary chambers (See story on page 3), members of the committee made certain amendments to the motion brought before the house. Teixeira, chairperson of the Appointive Committee, told the National Assembly that the report submitted to the MPs was fraught with inaccuracies and it appeared that there was some form of mischief.
McAllister concurred with this view, but when he started pointing fingers across the floor, this was discouraged by the Speaker given what he considered was lack of evidence.
PNCR member and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Clarissa Riehl, said the party did not accept the PSSSA to be representative of the people. "We treat [the PSSSA] as a 'fly by night'. We would have been quite happy to agree with the motion, but because of the [PSSSA] nominee, we can't."
Riehl added that the amendments were agreed upon by the members of the committee, including those of the opposition.
Sheila Holder of GAP/WPA said the PSSSA had frustrated the work of the committee.
She said that on July 10, the government used its majority and decided that the PSSSA and FUGE should be among the bodies representing government officials. She indicated that she voted against the PSSSA nominee in light of the "perceived illegitimacy".
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy stated in the face of the opposition complaints that in the interest of the people, the government would use its majority whenever necessary.