Maintaining appointment not unconstitutional…
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed, yesterday afternoon, that he has asked Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Dr. Steve Surujbally to resign from the position of Chairman of the recently established Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) Board. The Head of State made the disclosure at his first 2011 media briefing, in Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, after the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) raised concerns over the appointment, calling it unconstitutional.

President Jagdeo said that is not the case, as the GECOM Chairman is not being paid for his services to GLDA but, on the contrary, is serving his country in his area of expertise:  livestock.

Mr. Jagdeo described Surujbally as one of the leading practitioners in his field and noted that he also served the Ministry of Agriculture in that area.

The Guyanese Leader said that was the primary factor informing Surujbally’s appointment.

Under the Act, the GLDA is intended to address the effective administration and regulation of the industry, a role the President contends the GECOM Chairman is capable of performing.
President Jagdeo criticised the Opposition parties for raising this latest contention, pointing out that the political forces represented in the National Assembly were consulted before Surujbally took up the post.

“They offered no objections then…it is all political…the best thing to do is to have him get off this board,” Mr. Jagdeo said, referring to Surujbally.

President Jagdeo stated, categorically, that his request, to Surujbally, is not based on political pressure but, rather, on the need to leave, primarily, no excuse to question the results of the general elections or push to delay it, altogether.

AN EXCUSE
“There is no pressure… I’ve asked Surujbally to resign, just not to give the PNC an excuse,” he said.
In an invited comment, Surujbally told the Guyana Chronicle that he has not yet made his decision.
However, he indicated that the President’s wish will weigh, heavily, on what he decides.

“I have a meeting with the Board of Directors on Wednesday and I will disclose my decision on Thursday  at a press conference,” Surujbally promised.

He said he is disappointed at the move by both the PNCR and the AFC, because he had consulted with them before taking up the GLDA position.

“I spoke to the leaders and also wrote to them. I spoke to (Mr. Robert) Corbin about this before I took the position and it was not a problem. Why the objections now?” Surujbally wondered.

The GECOM Chairman maintained that he has an obligation to the GLDA Board, which he will fulfil.

He also said that, legally, according to consultations he had with legal luminaries, he is not in breech of the Constitution.
Surujbally was involved in the process that identified some of the deficiencies before the GLDA Act was passed in the National Assembly.
The Act provides for the administration and management of the GLDA and its affairs, subject to the directions of the Minister of Agriculture, in discharging its functions.