Dear Editor
Please permit me to respond to a letter published in the press entitled, “Mr. Williams was denied appointment as Commissioner of Police over two incidents.” The putative writer, Nazar Mohamed, asks of me, “Why was Paul Williams, with all the qualifications and experience he has, was not given the Top Cop job before Commissioner Mr. Leslie James.” He appeared to have answered the question himself, when he mentioned that because of two incidents that involved the killing of six suspected bandits, he was denied the appointment of Commissioner of Police, as at the time Paul Williams was in charge of Operations. It is complete fabrication, and total distortion of facts, to write that Paul Williams was in charge of Operations. He at no time during his career, was in charge of Operations. Nazar Mohamed also posited that members of the Police Service Commission were instructed by the then ‘powers of the land’ to appoint the number two candidate for the job of Commissioner of Police. The Police Service Commission cannot appoint a Commissioner. The question why Paul Williams was not appointed Commissioner of Police was wrongly directed to me. It should be directed to David Granger, who at the time, was the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Ask David Granger.
Let me refresh the memory of the writer. The appointment of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Police is the sole authority of the President. Article 211 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana states, “The Commissioner of Police and every Deputy Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and Chairperson of the Police Service Commission after the Chairperson has consulted with other members of the Commission.” It is pellucid that the President does not have to get agreement with anyone, including the Police Service Commission, to appoint a Commissioner of Police or Deputy Commissioners. Paul Williams was always our front runner for the appointment of Commissioner of Police. We, the members of the last Police Service Commission, took no instructions from the “powers of the land” to appoint the number two man as Commissioner, as stated by the writer. The highest ranking man in the land, the President, attempted to influence the PSC to promote his boys, but he was rebuked by then Chairman, Paul Slow. This is well ventilated at various forums. We, the members of the Police Service Commission were totally independent. This will be my only response to Nazar Mohamed as I have better things to do with my time than dealing with irrelevancies, inaccuracies and inconsistencies.
Sincerely,
Clinton Conway
Assistant Commissioner of
Police (Ret’d)
