THE EDITOR, SIR:
The ideas that Mr. Bruce Golding espouses on constitutional reforms might well have had more supporters left in the Labour Party than those who went with him to form the National Democratic Movement (NDM), when the matter came up for debate in the Central Executive of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in 1994. Eleven people voted with Mr. Golding in support of the separation of powers type of constitution. To my knowledge, only two of those persons left with Bruce to form the NDM and Mr. Brascoe Lee was not one of them.
The writer of this letter had put the proposals at the time to the party and I did not leave to join the NDM. Most, if not all, of the people who supported the separation of powers proposals are still in the Labour Party today. These have since been joined by more persons who share those ideas.
One must always remember that what motivated Mr. Brascoe Lee and others to break away from the Labour Party was not the issue of reform, but the issue of who could win. It is clear that even now some persons in the NDM do not understand the concept of separation of powers. This is not be confused with the People's National Party (PNP) model of the Executive President. The Executive President is a necessary part of the separation of powers model, but one would be sadly mistaken to think that they are the same.
As I understand it, the PNP wants an Executive Presidency such as is practised in Guyana and Zimbabwe, in that system the executive continues to rule over the legislature, since the Cabinet ministers are largely still members of the legislature. The main differences in the PNP model from what we now have are:
1) The monarchy would be abolished, along with the office of the Governor-General.
2) The post of Prime Minister would be abolished.
3) The Presidency would combine both the offices of Prime Minister and Governor General.
4) The President would be directly elected.
5) The person holding the office of President would have both executive and ceremonial functions as Head of State and his powers would be enormous without the checks and balances. When you think of the Executive Presidency without the separation of powers, just think of Mugabe in Zimbabwe or Burnham in Guyana and the latitude those systems give for abuse.
What Mr. Golding's return to the JLP has done is to allow a broad platform from which he can present his ideas. The persons who hold views similar to his will be able to carry them forward. When it is put to the vote in the party, if that viewpoint prevails as the majority view, it will become the JLP's position.
But the critics must remember this one thing, if a constitutional arrangement is to really work, it is best arrived at by consensus. By returning to the JLP Bruce has positioned himself to be a major player in forging that consensus. So let all the ideas contend.
I am, etc.,
JEREMY A. PALMER
Attorney-at-law
Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth
