FRAUD accused, trade unionist and Commissioner on the Public Service Commission, Police Service Commission and the Judicial Service Commission, Carvil Duncan, has made it clear that he will not be stepping down from his posts.“I will not resign! Because I hold a constitutional office and my term in office is set out in my mandate, the instrument given to me,” Duncan told reporters on Wednesday morning.
Duncan’s statement comes almost two weeks after the David Granger-led administration swore in a three-member tribunal to inquire, investigate and recommend whether Duncan, the Chairman and other appointed member of the Public Service Commission should be removed from office.
Duncan described the tribunal set up by President David Granger in September as “double jeopardy,” noting that he is before the courts based on the allegations of fraud levelled against him.
“The commission is double jeopardy— you can’t try a person for a matter that is tried in court… and the Constitution speaks of a presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” said a beaming Duncan.
Duncan was charged with fraud following alleged financial irregularities at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Incorporated where he served as a board member.
That aside, he reportedly has not been functioning effectively as commissioner.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo wrote Duncan asking him to show cause why a tribunal should not be established to address the question of his removal from constitutional office.
Duncan never responded to the Prime Minister.
The APNU+AFC coalition government had attempted to remove Duncan from the commission, but was unsuccessful as Duncan refused to cooperate.
President Ganger had said that the criminal charges laid against Duncan as a commissioner on three Constitutional bodies did not augur well.
As such, Prime Minister Nagamootoo advised that Duncan ought to be given the right to defend the charges levelled against him.
Due to his failure to answer to the commission, the Prime Minister then recommended to President Granger that a tribunal be established to investigate whether Duncan should be removed from the constitutional bodies.
In accordance with Article 225 of the Constitution of Guyana, Justice Roxanne George , Chairperson of the tribunal, Justice (ret’d) Winston Patterson and Attorney-at-Law Robert Ramcharran were sworn in before President David Granger.
The tribunal has begun its work and is expected to submit its findings and recommendations to the President by the end of October.
“It represents the commitment of this Administration for due process. We are obliged that when matters are brought to our attention that the response should not be hasty, arbitrary or whimsical and that, we follow the Constitution both in spirit and in letter,” President Granger said at the swearing-in of the three-member tribunal.
Duncan, who is also President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and General Secretary of the Guyana Labour Union, was charged jointly with former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) Aershwar Deonarine over the unapproved transfer of approximately $29M to their personal bank accounts from the PetroCaribe fund.
Duncan, when he was first charged, was placed on $1M bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan. It was alleged that Duncan stole $984,900 from GPL on March 31, 2015 at Georgetown, after conspiring with Deonarine to commit the act of simple larceny. It is also alleged that Duncan conspired with Deonarine to commit a felony between May 7 and 8 in Georgetown, where he conspired to steal G$27,757,500, property of GPL.
He has denied these charges.