According to a letter dated December 6th, 2011, sent to the Acting Commissioner of Police by the Governor General, the extended appointment of Vernon Francois at the helm of the Police Force was to expire on January 15th, 2012.
The top cop has been left in limbo since the controversy following the transfer of Police Commissioner, Ausbert Regis to the post of Director of Special Initiatives in the Prime Minister’s office started in May 2010. But that was rectified on Monday 21 November, 2011 when the court ruled in favour of Regis and ordered his immediate reinstatement as St Lucia’s Police Commissioner. Regis, who continues to decline comments on the matter, was expected to be back on active duty as the country’s top cop on January 15. His absence from the job however has forced Vernon Francois to resume his duties as the Acting Police Commissioner despite the expiration of his appointment.
In an interview with Rick Wayne after being named the “STAR Person of the Year 2011,” Francois said that one of his wishes for the new year would be a reduced number of acting appointments in the high levels of the police force adding “there needs to be greater stability at the higher levels of the force.”
In a brief interview with the STAR yesterday, Francois’ hopes of such wishes coming to fruition sounded vague as he indicated that he is still the confirmed deputy Police Commissioner and in the absence of the Police Commissioner, he would have to step up.
“I have a job to do and I will do it until an official directive is sent to me,” he said. Francois stated that he has been placed in this situation four times before, “so this is not new to me.”
However, when asked about what the outcome may be, Francois paused before answering: “I have no idea what is going to happen.”
It appeared that the calm, patient deputy was clueless as to what the authorities will decide and advised that we contact these relevant individuals.
When the STAR contacted the chairman of the Public Service Commission, Mr Egbert Lionel on the matter, he immediately declined comment stating that he is not at liberty to discuss the issue.
One would think that the Minister for Home Affairs, Victor LaCorbiniere would explain why Commissioner Regis is not at his desk after Francois’ appointment had expired but even the minister could not provide such information. Instead, LaCorbiniere directed all queries to the Office of the Prime Minister stating that Dr Anthony would be better able to answer such questions.
Dr Anthony was contacted for a comment on the matter and promised to return our call when he got to his office yesterday morning but up until press time, no word had come through from his office despite all attempts to make contact once again.
Meanwhile, the country remains uninformed with regards to the status of Commissioner Regis or that of Acting Commissioner Vernon Francois with none of the relevant authorities releasing any information. However, the unconfirmed word is that Francois’ appointment has been extended yet again.
Attempts to confirm reports proved futile as we went to press.
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