Granger backpedals on gov’t ‘age policy’ with Gecom appointment

With the appointment of 84-year-old Justice James Patterson as the new Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (Gecom), President David Granger has done an about-face on his administration’s move to establish an age limit for membership to state boards, agencies and commissions.

In February, following the government’s decision to ask both Justice Cecil Kennard and Justice Prem Persaud to step down from the Police Complaints Authority and the Public Utilities Commission, respectively, Granger had announced that the government was paving the way for younger persons to take the lead.

“So it is not a criticism of his [Kennard’s] service but there will be a general order explaining our policy on age and retirement for agencies, boards and commissions but at the same time we hope to give other persons an opportunity to serve so that over a period of time we build up expertise in the younger generations too. So it is not a criticism of Justice Kennard. There will be further information but nobody is being purged. We are simply trying to give other persons the ability to serve,” President Granger was quoted as saying in a Ministry of the Presidency statement after being questioned then about Kennard’s removal.

The president, the statement said, told the media that