BAKI CLAIMS HE WILL CHALLENGE HIS REMOVAL

By Byran Kramer - Kramer Report Facebook

At 2pm today, the former Commissioner for Police, Gary Baki staged a press conference at the Police Headquarters to announce that he will be applying to the Court for a restraining order against the National Executive Council (NEC) on its decision on Friday July 5, 2019, to revoke his appointment as Acting Police Commissioner and appoint Mr. Francis Tokura in his place.

NEC also appointed Joanne Clarkson as Acting Deputy Commissioner - Administration and Peter Guiness Acting Deputy Commissioner - Operations replacing Mr Raphael Huafolo and Mr Jim Andrews respectively, whose term expired on 4th July 2019.

Baki released a press statement titled: "Acting Commissioner Baki to seek restraining order against Government on appointments".

With due respect to the former Commissioner, the title of his press statement is misleading on account he is no longer the Acting Commissioner. In fact he is no longer a member of the force and should not have staged a press conference at Police HQ in Police uniform.

Mr Baki read out his 8 page statement to members of the press, to which I note the main issues below and provide my response.

Baki stated "Why did the government not follow due process and appoint them as substantive Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners instead of in acting capacities?"

"All appointments whether temporary or substantive shall be made by the Head of State, acting with and in accordance with the advise of the National Executive Council given after consultation with the Public Service Commission and any appropriate Permanent Parliament Committee, which in this case is the Permanent Parliament Appointments committee. It may take about two weeks to a month for due process to be observed so that substantive appointments can be made instead of acting."

"So the Police Minister and the Government is playing with the lives of careers of police officers."

My Response:

Am I playing politics with the lives of career Police Officers?

Hardly, it is more a case of their career expired/retired by operation of law.

Baki confirmed in his press statement that his contract expired on 7th May 2019, while the contracts of Deputy Commissioners Jim Andrews and Raphael Huafolo expired on 4th July 2019.

Section 91 of Police Act states Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners shall retire in accordance with the terms of their contracts. In this case all three contracts expired giving effect to the vacancies in office and need for urgent acting (3 month) appointments.

Mr Baki claims that when his contract expired on 7th May 2019, he was reappointed Acting Commissioner on 8th May 2019 by O'Neill Abel Government.

He rightly stated above that "all appointments whether temporary or substantive shall be made by the Head of State, acting with and in accordance with the advise of the National Executive Council given after consultation with the Public Service Commission and any appropriate Permanent Parliament Committee. This is provided for under Section 193 of Constitution.

So did Baki's appointment as Acting Commissioner follow due process by being in accordance with Section 193 of the Constitution?

Short answer is No.

In a meeting with Baki, following my appointment as Minister for Police, I requested he provide documentation supporting his appointment. He explained he submitted an application for re-appointment to then Minister of Police Jetla Wong.

However due to political impasse around the same period Mr Wong failed to submit his application before NEC.

I then asked Mr. Baki that if NEC did not meet to approve his acting appointment then which authority appointed him. He stated that he was appointed by the former Public Service Minister Elias Kapavore as the NEC delegate. However Minister has no such powers.

I then sought the advice of the Attorney General's Office who confirmed that Mr. Baki's purported Acting Appointment was illegal, therefore he was illegally acting in office.

State Solicitor also made the point that Mr Baki is 62 years of age and therefore disqualified for appointment.

This view is also consistent with advice provided by Public Service Minister, Wesley Nukundj in his letter to me dated 26th June 2019.

"Prior to the expiry of his (Baki) appointment on 7th May 2019, he had indicated that he wishes to seek re-appointment for another term. However,... as per the records, Mr Baki is now 62 years old, and since his contract has expired and with the current law in place Mr. Baki has reached the current retirement age of 60 years.. ," the Minister said.

So while Mr. Baki is claiming to still be Acting Commissioner and that he will be applying to the Courts for a restraining order against the NEC's recent appointment for failing to follow due process, I'm very much interested to see what his response will be when questioned by the Court on his standing as well his own acting appointment and the fact he no longer qualifies for the position.

My office will be carrying out an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his purported acting appointment on how he was illegally appointed and the effect of the illegal decisions made since 7th May, 2019.

Another disturbing issue is that many of the statements made during Mr. Baki's press statement were both false and misleading. For instance he claimed the Police Act 1998 states the retirement age is at 60, but in cases where necessary, the Police Commissioner can be allowed them to serve until 65.

This is false, the legislation is clear the retirement age is 60.

Baki said he informed the Minister that if the Government did not wish to consider his reappointment then he recommended that it considered one of the two deputies, Mr Huafolo or Mr Andrews for the job to allow for stability and continuity. Both Huafolo and Andrews have also exceeded the age of 60 and therefore also disqualified for re-appointment.

Baki goes on to claim the action by the Police Minister in writing to him to cease office as Acting Commissioner of Police without a cabinet decision is political interference in the running of the Constabulary. The irony about this statement is that he was never appointed by NEC (cabinet) therefore he was not even the Commissioner or a Member of Constabulary following his retirement.

The central issue is whether the recent acting appointment of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners followed due process?

Short answer is Yes.

During the recent appointment discussions, Mr. Guinness’s age being 61 disqualified him from being appointed as Deputy Police Commissioner Operations. I have since discussed the issue with him and a new appointment is expected to be announced by mid this week.

Mr. Baki's claim that Mr. Tokua's appointment goes against the spirit of that Bougainville Peace Agreement and compromises the Bougainville Referendum is absurd and ridiculous. Under the Constitution, there is only National Police Force. If anything Mr. Tokura's appointment adds to Marape Steven Government’s commitment to rebuilding trust and reconciliation with Bougainville people.

As Head of Police Force, Mr. Tokura is now best placed to ensure the Bougainville Referendum receives the full attention it deserves.

A further issue raised by Baki that all applicants would be screened by the Police Commissioner, who then submits a shortlist of candidates to the NEC through the Police Minister for its consideration and decision is not entirely correct. The appointing authority is NEC upon recommendation made by the Police Minister.

Unfortunately, there was no Commissioner as Mr. Baki retired on 7th May 2019 while both Deputy Commissioners retired on 4th July 2019 leaving three vacancies. So to ensure stability I consulted a number of Members of the Force to identify three of the most qualified, neutral and respected members of the Force to be appointed in acting positions for just 3 months so that a proper assessment of each of Assistant Commissioners for Police may be afforded fair opportunity to apply for the substantive position.

I thank Mr. Baki for the service to the State however it is time to move on and allow the next generation of senior ranking officers to be afforded the opportunity to serve our country in the highest office of Police Force.