He made the suggestion following the Prime Minister's official statement in which Kamla Persad-Bissessar acknowledged that the matter of Reshmi Ramnarine's appointment was a mistake and admitted that members of the Government are human and liable to make mistakes.
“It was never our intention to deceive,” Persad-Bissessar told legislators. She explained the government is now considering several prospective candidates for the top job at the SSA and promised to make "an appropriate announcement" would be made in due course.
She promised a better recruitment process:“We will only do, Mr Speaker, after we have utilised a more rigorous selection process...Our people deserve no less.” She promised that the misstep of appointing Ramnarine would not happen again.
Rowley told reporters during the Parliamentary tea break that the government should adopt a recruitment system similar to the one used to find a Commissioner of Police. He said this is needed because of the agency’s importance and the Government’s failure to handle the matter properly.
“The Government’s recalcitrance on the matter should now force the Parliament to get involved and the appointment of the head of the country’s security agency should have a proper process and there should be direct Parliamentary oversight and involvement in this matter,” he said. “You cannot leave it to the Government to do it.”
Rowley also dismissed the PMs statement as hollow and self-serving, noting that Persad-Bissessar did not take the responsibility for what happened.
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