The government will be proceeding with its plan to extend advertisements for the posts of Chancellor and Chief Justice to the Caribbean, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said yesterday.
Responding to a question from Stabroek News on the issue following his weekly post-cabinet press briefing, Harmon said that the government is currently speaking to the Guyana Bar Association as well as the acting chancellor and chief justice.
“They know our view on the matter, it hasn’t changed. The President has made it very clear”, he said before stressing that the process will be started. Harmon did not give an indication as to when the process will most likely start.
“Without any issues in relation to the incumbents we will make sure it is done very swiftly. It makes no sense you have a man acting in a position for all these years on the basis of you can’t have an agreement”, Harmon said adding that government will put in place the process it has identified.
According to him “If at the end of it the two incumbents are the ones who are identified well so be it. We will stick with that but we will put in place a transparent process to all for that to happen”.
President David Granger while the opposition leader had not signalled his agreement with Acting Chancellor Carl Singh and Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang being confirmed to their respective posts. He had publicly said that he had asked for a transparent process to be used to fill the posts but this was never considered.
He had said back in 2013 that if either Justice Singh or Justice Chang applied for the post and were reviewed and chosen by a panel then he would not object to their appointment.
Granger had noted that since April 2005, then President Bharrat Jagdeo and Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin could not agree and the issue has been deadlocked. The appointments require the agreement of both the President and the Leader of the Opposition.
APNU has since expressed the view that in addition to the position being advertised locally it should be done regionally.
