Aim & Purpose
THE aim and purpose of this article is to bring about a no-party government in a multi-party state, whereby, the party with the majority works in the interest of all, as intended by the 1979 Constitution, “the supreme law”, which shows us the way in which our country is to be governed.
The idea therefore is not to abolish parties for the phrase “in a multi-party state” governs the sentence; and it is well-known that it is the party system that keeps the breath in the nostrils of parliamentary government.
The foundation for the proposals being advanced for consideration was, painstakingly, laid in two previous articles:
i) in the Voice of the 31st October, 2015 (page 6), where the rhetorical question is posed; “Is it our Constitution or men who need remodelling?” and
ii) in The Star of the 21st November, 2015 (page 15), entitled, “A Constitution can be written on the Back of a Postage Stamp” by being true to the one Christian commandment that embraces all the Ten Commandments, which is: “Love thy neighbour as thyself,” five simple words.
The proposals and the articles are, therefore, of one substance and are to be read as if fused into one another.
For the purposes of those only who have neither read nor digested the two articles, I shall restate three things:
i) the 2011 findings of the d’Auvergne Commission which identifies our problems as:
a) “the overwhelming concentration of power in a small Cabinet…which cried out for change;” and
b) “a widespread belief that our Constitution condemns us to a situation in which our governments once elected, seem beyond our ability to restrain or to influence.”
ii) the conclusion of Georges Bidault, Prime Minister of France in 1948 and 1958 that: “The good or bad fortune of a nation depends on three factors: its constitution, the way the constitution is made to work, and the respect it inspires”; and
iii) my own commitment since my entry into politics in 1968 to get rid of the limitless power our leaders had arrogated unto themselves, whereby the last word in every decision was theirs alone.
Before I come to the proposals, I shall say again that our Constitution is perfect as it is. Has it not been working wonderfully for Britain since the Reform Act of 1832 that made her a constitutional democracy? But because “the way in which our Constitution is made to work”…”cries out for change”, have I, at 76, come forward again, for the sake of this generation and theirs, to put things to rights so that the same 1979 Constitution which “the People of Saint Lucia affirmed their faith in”, would be envied for “the respect it inspires”, by our “ability to restrain or to influence” those in whom power has been vested, to do justice and to govern wrong.
The Proposals
The Governor-General
1. The Person holding the office of Governor-General shall be appointed by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister shall ensure that the entire House of elected and nominated members is in agreement. Prior to doing so, however, he shall seek nominations from the religious, economic or social bodies or associations in the country. He shall submit at least two names for consideration and the meeting shall be in closed session.
Parliament
2. There shall be a Parliament of Saint Lucia which shall consist of Her Majesty and a House of Justice.
3. The Senate shall be abolished having proven to be ineffective as a revising chamber, and a waste of money and parliamentary time since its creation in 1979.
The House of Justice
4. The House of Justice shall consist of 30 members:
i) a Prime Minister;
ii) seventeen (17) elected members;
iii) eleven (11) nominated members; and
iv) a Speaker with a fictional or nominal seat in the House.
The Prime Minister
5. He shall be elected by the people on his own merit. He shall have no affiliation to any party: thus he shall be the Prime Minister of everyone, dispensing justice for all within the radius of his authority. On that basis, no leader or group could any longer frustrate the aspirations of anyone worthy of the highest office within the gift of the people. And so, every mother’s child fresh from the womb, could be marked as a potential prime minister, all hindrances having been removed.
6. The Prime Minister shall be elected on a manifesto which upholds “the principles of social justice” solemnly consecrated in the preamble to the 1979 Constitution, the spirit that vivifies it. It directs that:
i) the operation of the economic system “should result in the material resources of the community being so distributed as to subserve the common good”; and
ii) “opportunity for advancement” be “on the basis of recognition of merit, ability and integrity”.
7. He shall hold no other office than that of Prime Minister. His prime office shall be the management of all the ministries as if he were the Chief Executive Officer of a company, for which excellent management skills are required.
8. His main function shall be:
i) to ensure that his Minister for Finance finds funds to fund the various programmes in the Budget; and
ii) to cause surpluses to be created, to reduce the debt burden, pay for our own development, minimize borrowing; and make us equal in status with others, and not beggars.
9. As his management of the ministries would be a full-time job, he should not be a perambulator. He should, therefore, except on important state missions, be confined to his office as the Prime Minister of England is to No. 10 Downing Street, and the President of the United States is to the White House.
The Elected Members
10. The island shall be divided into 17 constituencies. Each shall return one (1) member to the House of Justice.
11. Each of the 17 elected members shall be the Governor of the Constituency and shall be referred to as “Governor”.
12. As contemplated in the preamble to the Constitution (clause (f)), the sums voted annually in the Budget shall be apportioned in an equitable manner to each constituency according to its needs, and as prioritized by its Governor who shall be the watchdog of such funds.
13. The Governor who holds a Cabinet post shall be assisted in the performance of his duties by the Chairman of the Constituency Council who shall be paid an allowance for his services. The Constituency Council shall be elected and not nominated.
14. Each person vying for the office of Governor of a Constituency (whether on a party ticket or as an independent) shall be elected on a manifesto highlighting the basic principles of the party and his plans for the development of the constituency. The manifesto shall form the basis of his proposals in seeking allocations prior to the passage of the Budget.
15. In consultation with the Chairman of the Constituency Council, the Governor shall appoint Rural Constables to maintain peace and order in the various divisions of the Constituency, to assist the police in the performance of their duties.
16. In particular, to eliminate crime, and promote a healthy and safe environment, the Rural Constables shall keep the constituency free from gangs and shall discourage loitering and harassment. To discourage such conduct, the Governor shall, with the assistance of the Constables, keep a register of gangs and loiterers, to ensure that employment is found for them, especially in construction and roadworks. His paramount duty shall be to keep the hands of the poor employed, the best remedy for a peaceful environment.
17. The office of Governor shall be a full-time job, therefore.
18. No additional funds should be incurred for the maintenance of the offices of Governor for at least two reasons:
i) the Governor should be paid no more than three-fifths the salary of a minister; and
ii) the radical reduction in the number of ministers and ministries would counterbalance the increased expenditure necessary for proper representation of the constituency.
The Nominated Members
19. Eleven persons shall be nominated to the House of Justice by the procedure outlined below. It shall be free from party considerations.
20. The following institutions shall each submit the names of two of its members to the Governor-General for appointment:
i) the Christian Council;
ii) the National Youth Council;
iii) the Chamber of Commerce;
iv) the Trade Union Council;
v) the Bar Association;
vi) the Farmers Association;
vii) the Credit Union Council;
viii) the Medical & Dental Council;
ix) the Sports Council;
x) a representative for Human Rights, the poor and people in crisis.
21. The Governor-General shall cause the Speaker to convene a meeting of a special committee of seven of the elected members to choose the eleven nominated members from the list of persons submitted to him or her for appointment.
22. The Special Committee of seven shall be chosen by the Speaker in alphabetical order, first, the first three, and then the last four, to avoid partisan selection.
23. The nominated members shall vote on all matters, save on financial matters and on a vote of no confidence in the Government.
The Speaker
24. In order to preserve his independence, the Speaker shall have a notional or fictional seat in the House of Justice, such as “The Member for Old Sarum” or The Member for the Last Railway.
25. He shall be appointed by the elected members of the House, from among two or more persons, on the recommendation of an ad hoc committee of three of the elected members. His appointment shall be unanimous.
26. The Office of Speaker shall be a full-time job.
The Cabinet of Ministers
27. The Cabinet shall consist of no more than nine (9) ministers, namely:
i) a Prime Minister who shall preside over the proceedings;
ii) an Attorney-General;
iii) a Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade;
iv) a Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs; and
v) five other ministers.
28. There shall be no deputy Prime Minister, Ministers of the State, or Parliamentary Secretaries.
29. i) Ministers shall be liable to impeachment for wilfully acting contrary to the public interest. Also their seats may be declared vacant for improper conduct in office.
ii) Whenever a minister is out of the State, or is on leave, the Prime Minister, who has a seat in every ministry by virtue of his office, shall assume responsibility for his duties.
The Minister for Finance & Economic Affairs
30. He shall be knowledgeable in finance. If a suitable candidate cannot be found from among the elected and nominated members, some other person shall be chosen and shall be an ex officio member of the House and of the Cabinet but shall have no vote. Finding the funds to meet the various services shall be his main task and shall therefore see to it that all revenue departments operate at maximum efficiency.
The Attorney-General
31. Not only shall he be the principal legal advisor to the Government but shall be competent enough to represent the State on all important civil matters, especially where the reputation of the nation or the Government is involved.
The Judiciary
32. Our Constitution is like a massive tree with three gigantic branches designed to produce good fruits for the sustenance of all. The very arrangement of its chapters conveys to us that the concept of a separation of powers is the actual living material within the body of the Constitution, as it can be clearly seen that all legislative, executive and judicial functions (formerly concentrated in a king) are now reposed in those three distinct entities.
33. In reality however, the concept is mainly theoretical, and any pretence to the contrary is farcical.
34. What separation is there between parliament and the executive? None: for the majority of those who make the laws are themselves Cabinet Ministers.
35. And further, though no member of the Executive participates in the deliberations of the courts, the part played by Prime Ministers in matters of finance and appointments denies the existence of any real separation.
36. It is recommended, therefore, that the judiciary be made financially independent and that no politician be allowed any say in appointments to it.
37. One needs refer only to three examples to expose the fallacy:
i) most lawyers in the OECS are aware that Mr. Brian Alleyne of Dominica acted as Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court for some three years without ever being appointed, only because one single prime minister withheld his consent;
ii) ex prime minister James Mitchel of Saint Vincent can attest to the refusal of the Heads of Government of the OECS, to extend by two years, the term of office of Mr. Eric Bishop, one of the longest serving judges of the Supreme Court. I was present at that meeting held in 1990, or thereabouts;
iii) The financial impact which the Impacs Report has already had on Saint Lucia and the impasse now existing between our so helpful and long-standing a friend as the United States, drives home the point too precisely for any further comment, except to say that
“He who pays the piper calls the tune”.
Standing Committees of the House
38. There shall be the following seven Standing Committees of the House:
i) finance and management of the public debt;
ii) agriculture, tourism & national development;
iii) public works and contracts;
iv) education and sports;
v) health and social services;
vi) national security; and
vii) public accounts.
The Standing Committees shall be the workshop of the Government.
39. The twenty-one (21) members of the House who are not ministers shall keep the seven Standing Committees actively at work. Persons of vast experience may be co-opted to assist them.
40. Each committee shall comprise five members and three shall form a quorum.
41. A member may belong to more than one standing committee.
42. Decisions of the committees shall be final but may be subject to review by the House upon a resolution of five of its members.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC)
43. Though mandated by the rules of the House to report annually to it, the PAC has met only twice in 49 years:
i) In 1967, under the chairmanship of the then Leader of the Opposition, Honourable George F.L. Charles, where a two page report was submitted to the House as that Committee was still in its infancy; and
ii) In 1986, under my chairmanship as Leader of the Opposition, where a full report was submitted. The Committee was left with no choice but to write off most of the accounts of the Government and start afresh. The Report exists as a precedent, as I was assisted by a highly experienced Canadian auditor, Mr. Aichinson, who had been Director of Audit in Vanuatu, prior to his appointment here. By virtue of his office, the Director of Audit, is an officer of the Public Accounts Committee.
44. This means, that during all those years, succeeding governments have been indifferent to how our taxes have been spent, amounting to billions.
45. The Public Accounts Committee is the only entity that can keep government ministers and civil servants on their toes, as it can summon all public officers to appear before it to explain their actions, from Prime Minister to messenger. Neither the Cabinet nor the Director of Audit has any such power. And for this reason alone, the role and function of the PAC should be entrenched in the Constitution, with the duty, like the Director of Audit, to report annually to the House.
46. As their answers can make or break them, and render them liable to prosecution, public officers would never wish to see another summons again. The failure to meet and report annually is, therefore, tragic as the public service can become a hatchery of corruption where that committee exists in name only, as already shown.
47. This situation has arisen because, invariably, any unfavourable report would be an indictment on, the Government in office, or, the Opposition, since governments come and go.
48. It is therefore dangerous for any Leader of the Opposition, who has held the office of Minister for Finance, to be the Chairman. That position should instead be held by one of the eleven nominated members, and they should form the majority on the Committee.
49. There are numerous features in this plan capable of recommending itself to the citizens. The fact that:
i) any Saint Lucian citizen, on his own merit, with no allegiance to a party, could become Prime Minister without having to deal with the machinations manifest in the machinery of parties;
ii) the unlimited authority prime ministers have invested in themselves, which gives them the last word in every aspect of our lives, from the cradle to the grave, would be radically reduced, or eliminated;
iii) all inactive and transient representatives would now be actively at work in their constituencies or in Parliament attending to the needs of constituents and the nation as a whole;
iv) compared to the benefits that would definitely accrue generally, the little additional cost would be insignificant; and
v) bitter political division, victimization, tribalism, nepotism, partisanship and injustice in all its forms would be now under the full glare of public scrutiny, and confidence in politicians and politics would be established for the first time since Statehood.
50. Saint Lucia is too miniscule a country and with too little resources to continue to be burdened with 14 ministers, 20 permanent secretaries and a plethora of other offices and officers of all grades and distinctions, all at the expense of the poor tax payers. Those officers should be put to far more productive use to reduce the debt burden, and create employment for others.
51. Inherent in these proposals is the wholesome advice that we should elect our representatives, not on the basis of who we are for, but what we are against. Only so should it be in a democracy, and, a Christian environment.