National Security Minister John Sandy is waiting for a report on the performance of the controversial light aircraft contracted by the police. After that, a decision would be made on the cost-effectiveness of the aircraft, Sandy said yesterday. He was speaking at the opening of the FBI National Academy Associates, Latin America Caribbean Chapter, at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre, St Ann's. Sandy said the trial period for the plane should have come to an end March 31. He said if he was not satisfied with the report which was to be submitted by Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, he would recommend to the National Security Council that the deal should be brought to an end. But Jack Ewatski, Deputy Police Commissioner, Operations, who also attended the conference, said the trial period for the light aircraft still had six weeks to go.
Sandy said he had been given an oral report on the progress of the plane thus far. "I am advised that the plane worked well on the missions that the police used it on," Sandy added. Asked if that was an indication that the aircraft would be fully contracted he said: "At this moment I cannot say if there are moves to fully contract the plane. I would leave that up to the Police Commissioner." Asked if Gibbs had said whether he would move to fully contract the aircraft in the future, Sandy said he would expect such a recommendation in Gibbs' formal report, which he expected to get this week. Sandy said he could not say whether he was satisfied with the work of the aircraft until he had the report. "I have not looked at the aircraft from a day-to-day perspective, but from all reports, based on what the police commissioner has said, yes, the aircraft has worked," he added.
Ewatski, however, maintained that the trial period of the aircraft began only on Carnival Monday this year, which was February 20.
The plane was also the main feature during major anti-crime operations during Carnival. Ewatski always has maintained that the Police Service was not on a mission to engage in "covert surveillance" through the use of the plane. The Trinidad and Tobago Air Support Company Ltd has been identified as the company contracted by the Police Service to provide the plane for three months, at a cost of $902,772. The contract sparked controversy, with Sandy claiming he had not been informed that it had been awarded. Gibbs and Ewatski have since submitted reports on the contract to Sandy, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and the Police Service Commission.
PSC's awkward situation
The refusal of Gibbs and Ewatski to sign their performance appraisals continues to be an awkward situation, Sandy noted. Ewatski, in a six-page letter to the commission in February this year, described the appraisal as "seriously flawed." In the letter, Ewatski had stated: "My refusal to sign the appraisal was rooted in my belief that the process used to evaluate my performance was seriously flawed, rendering the results invalid."
Questioned whether he believed the time had come for him to intervene, Sandy replied: "That remains an awkward situation where the PSC is the sole authority and I will not make any public pronouncement because I would not want to influence the appraisal of the PSC in any way."