The United Workers Party has accused President Charles Savarin of callous disregard for the provisions of the Constitution of Dominica, “which he is sworn to uphold,” by his unlawful and unconstitutional appointment of Lincoln Corbette and Davidson Valerie to the Offices of Chief and Deputy Chief of Police respectively.
Corbette has been appointed to the position of Acting Chief of Police from 1st September 2020 to 30 September 2021 and Valarie has been made Acting Deputy Chief of Police for the same period.
The United Workers Party Team Dominica contends, in a statement, that the President made the appointments without “ascertaining that the provisions of Section 92 (1) of the Constitution were diligently and dutifully followed.”
“The President has heaped scorn on the Rule of Law in the Nature Isle,” the statement said.
The UWP, in its statement, portends that on the issue of the appointment of people to the Offices of Chief and the Deputy Chief of Police, the Constitution stipulates at Section 92 (1) that, “The power to appoint a person to hold or act in the office of Chief of Police or Deputy Chief of Police and, subject to the provisions of section 93 of this Constitution, the power to remove the Chief of Police or Deputy Chief of Police from office shall vest in the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, given after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and the Police Service Commission.
According to the UWP statement, the Leader of the Opposition, Lennox Linton, received a letter from Prime Minister Skerrit on Friday 28th August 2020, informing him that the Prime minister had asked His Excellency The President to appoint Corbette as Acting Chief of Police. Linton received another letter from the Prime Minister on the same day, informing him of his proposal to have Davidson Valerie appointed as the Deputy Chief of Police from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020.
“As Leader of the Opposition I have been informed of the advice you will give to the President. But there has been no consultation by the Prime Minister with the Leader of the Opposition prior to advising the President as specifically required by the Constitution – our supreme law,” Linton wrote in his response the prime minister’s letters. “I am available at your earliest convenience for the Prime Minister’s consultation with the Leader of the Opposition that must precede the Prime Minister’s advice to the President with respect to appointments to the top two positions in the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force.”
Linton continued in his response, “By copy of this letter, I am alerting the President that the constitutional requirement of consultation with the Leader of the Opposition for these acting
appointments in the leadership of law enforcement has not been met to date, should he be minded to act in accordance with the Constitutional rule of law”
According to the UWP statement, “To date, His Excellency the President has not received any written communication advising him that the Prime Minister had consulted with the Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, neither has he been informed as to what was the Opposition Leader’s contribution in any consultation, which should have been considered by His Excellency before making the appointments.”
The United Workers Party describes the developments as “very disturbing, bearing in mind that the appointments are to the highest offices of the Nation’s Law Enforcement Institution. By their actions, Dominica’s Head of State, the Custodian of Dominica’s Constitution ably supported, aided and abetted by the Head of Government and Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, are sending extremely dangerous signals to the Dominican Citizenry that the Rule of Law shall not be respected by them.”
According to the statement, “The Executive of the United Workers Party implores His Excellency the President to: (1)Acknowledge that an unlawful and unconstitutional act was committed and that the appointments be revoked; and (2) Ensure that future appointments to the Offices of the Chief and Deputy Chief of Police be done in strict conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.”
In 2011, then leader of the opposition, Hector John also questioned the constitutionality of the appointment of Cyril Carrette as Police Chief claiming that Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit failed to engage the Opposition before appointing Carrette.
@Pipo, I am just a first grader so no worries about my spelling. That is why I do not use big words like …..bombastic, acculturationism , grandiloquentism etc
It just is not me. I do not even know how to spell Parliamentry Opposition leader.
Sorry Sir , I was expelled from school for fighting and cursing teachers saying that they have plastic bombastic.
Glad to know you are aware of your limitations partner. It does help to keep one humble and your foot out of your mouth.
Joseph, there is a lot of people who think that they are educated because they have some form of “degree” from some form of education, but they are simply fooling themselves.
There is a bright red line under the terms: acculturationism and grandiloqentism–as I write it, this means it does not accept the “ism”. Any person with common sense will not use those terms–so those people who use them have no common sense which takes a great role in education.
Without common sense, what we learn in any education faculty, is like a “recipe” which is copied on our minds; most of the time we don’t even know or forget when and how to apply them.
That is the reason most uneducated persons can be smarter than the educated, in that they have a high level of common sense or human instinct –their wisdom and understanding come from their conscience where God connects to us–but those who claim to be educated cannot receive Him–how unfortunate!
Linton, is a waste of time and a complete clown trying to fool himself and the public with his madness this is the same snowflake who said the police cannot stop us or tell us what to do this is a man who do not believe in law and other now he is trying to pretend making noises Mr Skerrit, didn’t consent with him man don’t waste people time and step down you are useless to the bone.
@Man bites dog, I don’t understand why Lennox wants so much authority in the plans of the government. First of all, he is only one of three elected members of parliament for the opposition. Secondly, he rejected the result of the election, so up till now he is not yet the Opposition Leader, so what is he doing claiming:
“The Executive of the United Workers Party implores His Excellency the President to: (1)Acknowledge that an unlawful and unconstitutional act was committed and that the appointments be revoked; and (2) Ensure that future appointments to the Offices of the Chief and Deputy Chief of Police be done in strict conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.”
How can Linton be part of the “Executive” of the UWP, when he did not accept the results of the Election, the way he can be sworn in as the part of that executive? How is it that Linton expects everything the government plans to do must be planned by his own terms?
To be honest, the last election failings of the UWP, have practically put them playing on the back foot. Office politicians usually believe that their position/profession, is all that’s needed when aspiring for National leadership. As a former Gov’t, the UWP over the years have seen their ROOTs eroded, only to become a voice in the wilderness. In Dominica, the support lost by the UWP is a cause for concern, TREES planted by the UWP have been eroded by Erica/Maria naturaldemics, when lack of will and vision was added, their political shortcomings was exposed in the last election. The UWP as a political party will continue to free fall, until their leadership start taking a very good look at themselves. This present scenario, is only the beginning of what policies will look like post Covid. In Dominica, what ever seed u plant, all u going to reap is the fruit from that tree. The UWP can attest to that.
@Bob D, yours is the same opinion as I spoke above, just with different wordings. I know that we have spoken the “truth”. It cannot be clearer than that.
Lennox is still in court combatting the result of the 2019 election; he did not recognize that result, how can he be claiming the role of Opposition Leader? When will that man stop making a fool of himself, with followers that makes a bigger fool of him–but they don’t know it?
Skerrit and Savarin have already set up Corbette for failure. Yeap divide and conquer….You need the public to help the police my foot
Why must every UWP complaint or disagreement be via the media or court.
Is LL unable to have a meeting with the PM or the President?
The opposition is what, 3 parl reps? What value could any Consultations have made? Plus they’re “acting”.
Now, would the appointment have been any different if only a Consultation was fourth coming?
Being in opposition does not mean being in opposition to everything. This feels like should UWP get into power, almost every policy, programme, appointments, trade deals, diplomatic appointments and relationships would all be undone as UWP has opposed every one of them.
Scary stuff.
your thing autocorrecxt, it should ClosedMind
Open Mind. Now you want to call them fellers obstructionists walking with their eyes closed. I think these guys are really smart. They get paid plus allowances for saying a few words now and then in the House of Assembly, and lambasting every thing in sight on the media.
That is what is meant by living on easy street.
Is there one thing that this government can do by following the constitution?
I guess Mr. UWP leader want the president and PM to be jailed for breaking the law. ‘revoke the appointment. Get back to him for consultation. And that will make him a very happy man. Well sa mista not easy.
Fellow Compatriots. It is irrelevant to me your party affiliations for this is not the issue here. ANY HONEST DOMINICAN will understand that this is NOT A POLITICAL ISSUE BUT A CONSTITUTIONAL ONE in which the responsibility ultimately rests in the hands of the PRESIDENT as custodian of the constitution. Political parties may irresponsibly, callously and disrespectful to the rule of law, try to jump hoops.
IT IS THE PRESIDENT who must honestly, diligently and in accordance with the constitution serve as final arbiter in his scrutiny of the terms and conditions through which appointments are made as stipulated by the constitution, the legislation & regulations flowing from it, and guide accordingly.
Let US BE UNERRINGLY HONEST – informing of a decision is NOT consulting though matter how good the appointees may be.
Finally, DO NOT throw stones at the appointees. They did not appoint themselves. Follow the constitution so they can take up their duties gracefully. Simple
This matter has to be addressed through the lens of the CONSTITUTION and the laws specific to such appointments, irrespective of who is/was President, Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, or the Appointees. The Constitution is the highest body of laws of any nation.
Any deviance from it undermines and unravels the very essence and identity of a nation. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT that is what flaunting the Constitution does. Unless if a section of the constitution, crafted in a different dispensation, is deemed to be violating some inherent and God-given human rights or is not in keeping with inherent values.
Any act that is undertaken that is ultra vires (acting beyond one’s legal power/authority) to the constitution is IN AND OF ITSELF – ILLEGAL.
It would be an incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial argument as to whether one was informed.
The issues is, was it done as stipulated by the constitution. If no, then eat humble pie (no harm there) and redo it – CORRECTLY!!
Consult with, means to talk about something with (someone) in order to make a decision. According to Linton he was informed by the PM by letter dated August 28th of his intention to advise the president these appointments. This is consultation. The constitution does not say that the PM must seek permission from the leader of the opposition to make these appointments. The response of the leader of the opposition is childish, he was given the opportunity to consult and he failed.
Anonymous, Who talked about permission? Surely not what you read in my post. Unless you misunderstood. Telling is NOT consulting. This word has an assumed meaning in Dominica so from now on I will know that if someone tells something they have consulted -IN THE DOMINICAN CONTEXT. ….
When a nation chooses not to be objective but to see things based on who the players are then…. MERCY ME – DOMINICA HAS A BIG BIG BIG PROBLEM.
What Skerrit did was ask Linton for his opinion or advice.Skerrit does not have to sit face to face with linton,to consult him.It is Skerrit who has to inform the President of the consultation.The president have to act on ADVICE of Skerrit.The President does not have to ask Linton any question.If Linton objects to the appointments,what happens?
Perfect answer, Thanks Lin Clown. Your interpretation is correct. That is why they cannot take the matter to court as I suggested.
This one term party with a league of concerned lawyers supporting them cannot smell the coffee at all. They are nose blind too.
@Lin Clown, I am sure that by all means, Linton would have objected, had he brought deeper into that plan, in that he doesn’t want to give PM Skerrit any credit, or to acknowledge that the Prime Minister has the highest authority because of his inability to humble himself–which could have been a good thing for him.
That is the thing eating Lennox; he cannot accept the role of Sir Roosevelt Skerrit–I am sure of it, as much as PM Skerrit knows it.
The members of the Bar Association, recently spoke out via a letter to the PM on the cutting of their fees, what about the constitutional process? does it not affect their pockets? Does the Bar Association not have a PRO? What about the office of the President is he not the head of state? should he not address matters of public concern in regards to constitutional matters?
I too vehemently oppose the appointment of this individual.
He has pledged loyalty only to Skerit, not the state, therefore cannot be police commissioner.
In fact ,both Corbett and Valarie are the equivalent of the Tonton Macout, protectors of their master.
‘Consultation with’ is a weak term that gives the PM wide latitude as he does not have to accept anything the Opposition says and still meet the ‘consultation with’ requirements. If the PM were required to get the agreement of the Opposition that would be a different story.
That PM is supposed to be a university graduate in English. He was a teacher of that language anyway. I know the meaning of consultation and so does he. It does not take a court to decide what it means. He did not follow the constitution, period.
The Parliamentary Leader of that Opposition said that the PM wrote him about these acting appointments, is that considered consultation or not
To ensure law and order in the State, we should seek to be guided by the Constitution in all matters of appointments. So what is the protocol when someone has to act in the position of Chief of Police?
If it does not require consulting the Leader of the Opposition for someone acting for six months or more, then the Constitution should be upgraded in keeping with the spirit of fairness and consensus for which it was intended.
So-called Workers clowns you guys don’t have a voice Mr president has chosen two of the best at his disposal Mr Lincoln Corbette and his Deputy Mr Valerie, I have no doubt they will do a great job law and other will be here from now on good luck and God bless.
Look guys let us get one thing straight Linton, and his crocodiles clowns are in no position to object of Mr Lincoln Corbette being chief of police, you guys are a bloody disgrace to Dominica, go away we Dominicans do not want you all Linton, will never be Prime minister of DOMINICA put that in your pipe and smoke it, in order words get out of our lives you lots!!!
Pipo, we all hope that they will never arrest you for asking that question, but the loss of our rights and protections under the constitution eventually will give them that ability.
STOP THE CONSTITUTION THIEVES NOW, before they take all that you have.
People do not seem to want to understand that all these moves are little pegs in a grander scheme. When they wake up and finally realize that they have no constitutional protections, they will ask themselves what happened to their rights.
Dominicans, please, your constitutional rights, protections, and privileges are slowly being erased and eroded. Now is the time to stand up and demand that the right and constitutionally legal processes be followed. It will be too late after these protections are gone. Everybody likes to stand by the road and speak their minds, when they start jailing you for that, it will be too late. STAND UP NOW FOR YOUR RIGHTS.
If the Parliamentary Opposition knows that the government bypassed any provisions of the Constitution he should take the matter to court.
He should file an injunction to declare the decision null and void.
Joseph …. are you prepared to pay the court cost knowing that the opposition is right based on the way the constitution is written? You see we are always quick to say go to the court knowing full well the opposition unlike the government does not have access to the financial resources needed to fight all these illegal actions in court. Yet we keep repeating these baseless nonsense like cunoomoonous. I say no, don’t take them to court instead let Dcans lock down the country. The unions should take some responsibility but they all “quietly” in bed with the illegal PM and he knows that they will do nothing.
@Bwa Banday, Linton the clown is the one who likes taking people to court just to show snowflakes like you he is doing something and comes out a big time loser then asked you his followers to pay the court fees losers losers losers!!!
Bwa Banday and Pipo. Are you saying that only the rich can seek justice in court ?
Well league of concern lawyers can put a stop to that type of unfairness. Did Linton approach them in this matter. You guys are such good citizens maybe you all can approach them for pro bono assistance.
I am pushing this null and void idea because I know they cannot win in court. Do you guys have a copy of the Constitution, bet you guys do not even know what it looks like.
Do you gentlemen (ha ha) know that on the very first (unnumbered) page it says….STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS…..1978 No. 1027. On the last page ( page 99) final paragraph it says EXPLANATORY NOTE.
As usual Linton is just showboating in an effort to boost his declining credibility. I can imagine him thumping his chest and heralding “am the greatest Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition ever,” not just leader of the opposition. I have not see “Parliamentary” anywhere in this regard. Should we say Parliamentary PM
Joe, there you go again. You know perfectly well that taking someone to court is expensive and whereas your PM legal bills are paid by the tax payers, the opposition does not have that luxury. That is why the government use that challenge to put people off taking legal action against them. That is a very effective ploy to frustrate opposition but neither fair nor natural justice although our Senior Council would call that perfectly legal and so confirm that there is Indeed one law for the rich and mighty and bugger all for the rest.
it is being taken. Whats most alarming is that the highest office in the land the President is not following the constitution either.
@Click here, you guys comes straight out of a comic book 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂
And how I agree with that suggestion. The court, the institution appointed by constitution to arbitrate on our disagreements is still alive and well. Use it to your advantage. You think your have been aggrieved, then go to court.
Mr. Linton cannot have it his way all the time. On one hand he is saying at he will not recognize the person holding the position of PM because the elections were stolen away from him. In the same breath, he wants the same “illegal PM’ to consult with him on important national issues. Roosevelt Skerrit is either the duly elected PM of Dominica or not. Mr. Linton cannot disregard the holder of the office of PM in one moment and then the next demand or make noise, even cry for the same individual to engage him.
Dominicans do not care about rule of law! As far as all Labourites are concerned the Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit could take Dominica to hell and as long as they get their cut, their pay, their salary, their free house, their red clinic, their share, they do not care what happen to Dominica! Just take the Prime Minister’s house and rent fiasco, and see how Dominicans just accept the corruption! Why would a company that is hired to build homes in Dominica after hurricane disaster, build a mansion …………………………….. As a friend told me, maybe it’s a hurricane shelter for Dominica’s rich and corrupt! But Dominicans like it and will defend it because they are getting their cut! When the PM gets his 300 pieces of silver, his senior counsel gets his cut, his advisers get their cut, ministers get their cut, churches priests and pastors want their cut, they are getting their 2 pieces of silver! Si pas ni soutiwez pas ni voleur!
ADMIN: We have not been able to independently verify your assertion and so had that part of your comment removed. However, we are continuing to look into it.
DNO, he posted, “Dominicans do not care about the rule of law”
Is that correct ? Have you verified this as factual ?
There is no truth in this posting. Everything is just straight up outright lies. The usual propaganda style of the opposition force.
I was wondering how long it would take LL to start shooting his mouth again. He has been quiet for the past few days. Now he is doing what he does best (blowing a lot of hot air). In case LL havn’t realized, The current chief of Police is still in his post. While he is on long term leave the PM has advised the President to appoint the current deputy to act in this position until a decision is made to fill that position permanently. LL will have his opportunity to have his say when this position becomes vacant and he can put forward his suggestions on whom he thinks is best for the job. Until then, he should put a zip on it and let the man get on with his job.
Doh worry your little head. The time is quickly approaching when people like you will be begging for LL to rescue you. All you all are good at is spinning and misinformation. Does the constitution differentiate between Acting Chief and Chief in terms of the process for appointment? You should stop shooting your mouth and get educated. Dca does not belong to LL but rather all of us as a collective but some of your will keep kissing the PM where the sun don’t “generally” shine just to get favors knowing full well that he is destroying the land.
Just remember the famous words of recently deceased freedom fighter and US Congressman John Lewis; “It’s ok to get get in GOOD Trouble!”……my boots are tied for that time is coming.
I am not surpprise too. But the constitution says “consult.” We should first define consult. Then it does not say the PM must take the advise of the opposition. LL is blue vex because he could not “advise” the PM.
If the decision is unconstitutional Lean-oxx can try to get it declared null and void. Anything else is just political showboating.
@ Eagle Eye,….Sometimes he does not listen to or think of what he is saying or doing. He is always irrelevant .
The Dr Dr says, “Peace to men of goodwill.”
Linton replies, “What about the people of Marigot”
The Dr Dr told march passing school kids to go home because of bad weather he rushed to take the solute. The PM is invited to a heads of government conference in Guyana he tries to mop it. What is up with this guy?
He gives the government two weeks notice to quit and he will form the interim government. But he thinks he is an expert on Constitutional law as “the Parliamentary Leader of the Opposition”. He is totally engrossed in his illusion of grandeur .
Why do the citizens of Dominica condone this unlawful/unconstitutional behaviour of Skerrit and that so called president. This is all your country and not the country of these rogues but all you let them walk all over you. Why???
Is there any reason why the leader of the opposition would not have accepted the two positions? Is he saying that he would have advised against these two who are part of of the top two in the police service. Unless for the police chief outside recruitment is being done, who else would one suggest?
Bro stop speculating. The point is that according to the constitution the PM should have consulted the leader of the opposition before making his recommendation to the President but he did not do that. So it is really true then that he really does not respect the law of our land.
Comprehension is not your strong point. He is saying that THE PROCEDURE WAS NOT DOME PROPERLY. He as the leader of the opposition wasnt never consulted. And for this appointment to take place legally and lawfully, HE MUST BE consulted. What you want to talk about is a totally different issue. Is not a matter of who i would want. Its a matter of you didnt even bother to seek my consultation or opinion as to whether i wanted anyone different. And that was unlawful according to the constitution. Stick to the facts and the issue. All you always trying to digress on some other nonsense
I can’t believe that it’s the same Angelo who had so much disdain for Patrick John, for not acting in a manner that followed the provisions in the constitutio. Now that Angelo is the President, one would have thought that he would be following the constitution. Instead as head of state, Angelo is facilitating Skerritt in abridging the same condition in the constitution. Dame Eugenia used Angelo to accomplish the removal of P .J from office but now that Skerritt is using Angelo, then it’s clear he’s nothing more than dish rag to be used. Come on Angelo, you can at least do somethings right to show that you have some value other than be a dish rag. You occupy the people’s house so do something useful for the people, the upholding of the tenets of the constitution. I put you on notice.
I guess this means that strictly speaking we do not have to acknowledge these officers as their appointments are not valid according to our constitution. Should we continue recognising them as policemen of their last legally appointed rank? Perhaps Corbett and Valerie can address that as long as they do not forget that PM Skerrit is not the law. I just hope I will not get arrested for sedition for asking the question.
Lol, you would not be arrested for sedition. Your comment just shows the extent of your ignorance regarding the matter. Why interpret the Constitution making it covenant to suit your partisan propaganda.
The complaints by the UWP and leader of the Opposition UWP re police appointments are appropriate and necessary. We seem to be drifting in the direction of Skerrit and Savarin doing things their way without due consideration and application of law and Constitution.. Where are the hiders in the bushes on these matters??
@Clayton l want to know what happened to Daas money?
Me too. The IRS are interested in the investments made of DAAS money.
We the hiders in the bushes are saying, “TAKE THE MATTER TO COURT.”
When Lean-oxx received the PM’s letter if he was not satisfied with that process he could have gone to court.
Joe really? I’m not so sure now your name is not a pseudonym for Tony Astaphan (….thank God for spellchecking)
You mean…Dominica Academy of Arts and Science that collected membership fees and donation. I really wish to know how many students graduated from this Academy.
I will not say more for now because DNO will not print it.