The Opposition has initiated steps to prevent moves by the Government to appoint a Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also said once the new list of items with a 12.5 per cent VAT rate is published in legal notice the Opposition would also seek to nullify it in Parliament. Persad-Bissessar said so during yesterday’s news conference at her office at Charles Street, Port-of-Spain. It was held following the PP’s parliamentary caucus at the same venue.
She said one of the reasons for the move against the orders was due to the unjust and undue delay in notifying the Speaker of the coming into effect of the orders before it was laid in the House. She said another reason was due to the apparent attempt by the Government to interfere in the work of the independent Police Service Commission in the process.
“We have filed motions to (have) negatived both of those orders,” she said. Persad-Bissessar said Government would have to set a date for debate on the motion, adding it should be held before January 25. She said the Government had committed breaches in the process and there was a provision in one of the orders to select and appoint a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie announced the approval of the new legal notices relating to the qualification and selection criteria orders during a post- Cabinet news conference last month but the orders were only brought to the Parliament on Monday.
She said the orders were made on December 14, 2015 and published two days later but not brought to the Parliament until this month.
In seeking to explain the reasons for the Opposition’s move she said the Standing Orders provide for “the statutory instruments, which is required to be laid in Parliament shall be submitted forthwith to the Clerk (of the House) for laying on the table simultaneously with its submission for publication.“
The former prime minister said that was necessary because such matters “which are subject to the negative resolution of the Parliament take effect on the date of publication, unless negatived. “ She said from the date the orders were approved “they became law and would remain so unless negatived within 40 days which are allowed for that purpose.” She said the public never saw those notices until this year.