President Paula-Mae Weekes is expected to clear the air on whether she received an Order of Merit List with the top seven candidates selected by the Police Service Commission (PSC) to be considered by the House of Representatives for the post of Commissioner of Police on Sunday.
The Office of the President has taken out a full-page ad in the three daily newspapers in response to repeated calls from the Opposition and senior lawyers to say if a politician, possibly the Prime Minister, intervened on August 12 to block the Order of Merit List from moving forward.
The Prime Minister said on Saturday that he had forwarded the minutes of a National Security Council (NSC) meeting to the PSC based on information that came to him as chairman of the NSC and a sub-unit of the NSC.
Newsday understands that the information referred to by the Prime Minister concerns the issuance of over 100 semi-automatic weapons to civilians and the allegations of corruption in the approval of over 5,000 firearm user's permits under the three-year tenure of the CoP.
It was based on that information that the NSC appointed retired Coast Guard commander Hayden Pritchard and retired Snr Supt Arthur Barrington to investigate the allegations. That report was also submitted to the PSC which in turn appointed retired judge Stanley John to conduct another investigation which is not yet complete.
There is a strict embargo on the contents of the ad where no part of it can be referred to in any news article in print, or on social media until Monday.
The mystery over whether the Order of Merit List was completed and submitted to the President got murkier when a detailed examination of affidavits filed by the Office of the Director of Personnel Administration in two separate cases against the PSC seemed to be at odds on whether the President got the list.
The Opposition has filed a motion seeking to get the approval of the joint houses of Parliament to set up a tribunal to investigate the President over her inaction on the Order of Merit List.
According to an affidavit, dated September 27, sworn to by acting Deputy Director of Personnel Administration Helen Warner in the judicial review lawsuit filed by Anand Ramesar against the PSC over its decision to reject his application for the post of CoP on the basis that he lacked the required experience, the Order of Merit List was not submitted to the President.
But in another affidavit, also dated September 27, this time filed by acting Director of Personnel Administration Corey Harrison in the interpretation summons filed by social activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj against the PSC, the "list of nominees" shortlisted by the PSC for the post of CoP was submitted to the President on August 12.
Both Warner and Harrison work in the same office and are custodians of confidential files of the PSC and deposed statements in defence of the PSC.
According to Warner's affidavit, 30 people applied for the post of CoP by July 20 but three candidates were rejected after an initial screening.
Newsday un
