President Irfaan Ali appears set to appoint Acting Police Commissioner Clifton Hicken substantively to the top position in the Police Force, despite the Opposition Leader still withholding his support.

In a letter to the Opposition Leader, Aubrey Norton on Wednesday, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira noted that the Opposition Leader’s decision not to support the appointment of Clifton Hicken as Commissioner of Police is unfortunate.

Teixeira said in the circumstances and having considered the contentions raised by the Opposition Leader, and upon weighing those against the accomplishments of Mr. Hicken, the President has concluded that that it is in the public’s interest and in the interest of national security that Mr. Hicken be appointed to the substantive post of Commissioner of Police.

The Opposition Leader in a previous correspondence to the President through the Governance Minister, had listed a number of issues for his non-support of the substantive appointment of Clifton Hicken as Police Commissioner.

Among those were concerns about his command of Police officers at Linden when the Police opened fire with live rounds on a group of protesters, killing three of them.

The Opposition Leader also raised concerns about financial improprieties within the Guyana Police Force, the Police shooting death of East Coast Demerara youth Quindon Bacchus, and allegations of corruption within the hierarchy of the Police Force. In response, Teixeira said all of those concerns have either been addressed or are currently being investigated.

The Governance Minister stated that Mr. Hicken remains the most senior member in the Guyana Police Force and the longevity of his tenure has been augmented by the fact that he has been acting in the position of Acting Police Commissioner since March 2022.

Mr. Hicken is currently serving in the Acting Police Commissioner’s position on an extension granted by the President, since he has already passed the age of retirement.

There have been extensions in the past, but in those cases, the extension was granted who were already in the substantive position of Police Commissioner, and not acting in the position.

Mr. Hicken’s appointment as Acting Police Commissioner was clouded in controversy as it was done unilaterally by the President in 2022. It was challenged in the Courts, but the Acting Chief Justice ruled that the unilateral appointment was not unconstitutional, since there was no Opposition Leader and no Police Service Commission in place at the time.

The Constitution requires for there to be meaningful consultation between the President and the Opposition Leader and the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission after the Chairperson consults with the other members of the Police Service Commission, before the appointment of a Commissioner of Police and the Deputy Police Commissioners.

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