Gya: Jagdeo's foot in mouth

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said yesterday he does not have an obligation to consult the political opposition or any other group on the composition of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the allegations levelled against the Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj.

The process was an exercise of the President’s authority, the head of state emphasised yesterday in a television interview with Dwayne Fowler of National Telecommunications Network Incorporated.
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The appointment of the Commission follows Minister Gajraj’s public announcement on May 7 that he had requested from President Jagdeo, permission to proceed on leave to allow for an impartial investigation into allegation of his knowledge of the operations of an alleged death squad.

Yesterday, the President explained that he met the donor community and indicated to them the Government was taking this approach, which would hopefully bring closure to the issue and “take away the excuse from the PNC that because there isn’t an inquiry they would not participate in the National Assembly, which I think is not only an untenable position, but one that is rarely heard of in the modern world.”

Opposition parties had reacted negatively to the President’s decision of appointing a Presidential Commission, even though they have repeatedly called for an investigation into the matter since the allegations were made in January.