Draft pretends to be republican but lacks the checks, balances

07.AUG.09

Editor: With your permission, I continue my comments on the draft Constitution.

Chapter V & VI – The President and Parliament.

In our present Constitution, we have a GG who has no power, and a Prime Minister with awesome powers. He appoints Ministers who remain there at his discretion. This is our Westminster Parliamentary model.{{more}} There are no formal checks and balances on the power of Parliament, and only hallowed tradition constrains the UK Prime Minister – something we lack in the Caribbean.

At the heart of the Republican ideal is a delineation of three power bases – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial – which act independently of each other and zealously guard their independence. The three act in a way that ensures that all are kept in check, meaning that they prevent each other from encroaching upon each others’ powers and upon the sovereign will of the people. This is the attraction of republicanism.

The draft pretends to be republican but lacks the checks and balances that define republicanism. The GG goes. In his place steps a President who is not directly elected as such by the people, but who inherits the powers of the person we now call Prime Minister. The draft suggests that we retain an office of PM with reduced powers. No President is elected, only MPs. A caucus of parliamentary MPs then chooses one of their number to be maximum leader and calls him President. He then appoints a Prime Minister and other Ministers, and may dismiss them at will, and he is not in any way accountable to them.

There is provision for an Ombudsman, but he is empowered to investigate only issues that Parliament controls. He cannot investigate the Executive or the Judiciary. There is a powerful whiff of an Ayatollah in this draft.

Part V, section 87.

“Every Constituency Representative shall be required to report to the National Assembly on his activities on behalf of his constituents at least once every 6 months.” Why? This is a private matter between him and his constituents on the one hand, and his Party – if he is a member of a Party – on the other. It should not be the business of Parliament. This crosses the boundary between the people as sovereign and Parliament as sovereign. It is surely up to constituents to deal with representatives whose performance is not up to scratch. This cannot be an issue for a national Constitution.

Chapter VIII – The Executive. Part I

We may resolve the issue of the President and save republicanism by having the President elected directly by the people, at a time other than when MPs are being elected. SVG may not be the USA, but the people who sorted out these problems in that country in the 18th century may very well have left pointers for us to follow. A President may die in office, or become incompetent, or be impeached. Who is to take his place? One solution certainly is to elect a Vice-President at the same time, which would mean working out a portfolio of interests for him to handle.

Secondly, let MPs focus primarily on serving their constituents, and in the process determining what laws to enact. They are the legislative branch. Ministers belong in the Executive. In the USA, they are called Secretaries – Secretary of Defence, Secretary of Commerce, of Agriculture, etc. Any name will do. So, the President should find people in the society who will be Ministers or Secretaries but whose appointment will be subject to the scrutiny – and veto – of the Legislature.

The advantage of this approach is that the Legislature – consisting of a majority section and a minority section – will comprise many committees.

For example, the preparation of the annual budget will come as a proposal from the Executive. Majority and Minority subcommittees will consider it and suggest modifications. Importantly, each side in the Legislature will commit to specific budget recommendations. A larger committee of the House of Assembly comprising both Majority and Minority members will seek to find an agreeable compromise, and this will eventually go back to the Executive. Add some time constraints to this and you have very workable governance.

Cedric B Harold
cbharold@cwjamaica.com