The National Assembly yesterday granted the Disciplined Forces Commission an extension on the deadline for the submission of its interim report on the Guyana Police Force (GPF).
The motion for the extension was unanimously passed, giving the Commission of Enquiry until December 1 to submit the report of its findings and ecommendations for the GPF.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Reepu Daman Persaud, moved the motion following a request by the commission for an extension of its original November 18 deadline.
The commission was set up by Parliament to inquire into the operations of the Disciplined Forces - the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Prison Service and the Guyana Fire Service - and to make recommendations for their reform, sustained professional development and structure.
It was given a six-month timeframe within which to complete its inquiry into the operations of the forces, but it was also required to give priority to the inquiry into the GPF and submit an interim report within three months of the start of public hearings.
The hearings on the GPF were completed on November 14, but the commission was unable to meet the deadline owing to extensive hearings and the large body of evidence for its consideration. The commission subsequently wrote to Parliament the day before the expiration of the deadline, seeking an extension.
PNCR MP Raphael Trotman declared his party's support for the motion, but he urged the Assembly to prepare, not only to receive the report but also to put the mechanisms in place to give effect to it.