Jamaicanised Separation of Powers

Devon Dick

IN THE Sunday Gleaner (October 20, 2002), Keith Miller espoused the myth of Separation of Powers that excessive power in the Cabinet and or Prime Minister is an inherent feature of the Westminster Model.

He asserts that it hardly matters whether the legislators are in a separate house from the Executive so long as both the Executive and legislators are from the same political party, things will not change. This consultant to the Ministry of Local Government advocates instead strengthening local government for a real diffusion of power.

It is good that there are persons who will not accept the American model of Separation of Powers hook, line and sinker. The Jamaican Marxists and communists of the 1970s made the mistake of borrowing from the USSR their model without adaptation. This should not happen again. Jamaica needs to identify and analyse the problems affecting the political system and then arrive at solutions, implement them and then evaluate them. However, Jamaicans must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bathwater by rejecting wholesale the Separation of Powers. What is needed, as we celebrate 40 years of Independence, is a Jamaicanised Separation of Powers drawing from the Westminster Model and the USA while creating our own model that would astonish the world.

The main problem faced by most Jamaicans is poor representation by their Members of Parliament. It is not excessive powers of the Prime Ministers. The Most Honourable Edward Seaga was in charge of a one-sided Parliament from 1983 and did he abuse his power? The same question could be asked of The Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, the longest serving Prime Minister. By the way, which poll has ever found excessive power by the Prime Minister or the Executive as a major problem?

Nevertheless, it would be good to separate the responsibilities of Member of Parliament from that of being a member of the Cabinet. This is not to say that persons cannot be good MPs and Ministers at the same time, but it is difficult. Constituents want MPs that are visible, developing projects, understanding their difficulties and representing their concerns in Parliament. MPs need to develop business plans for their constituencies. They should not rely solely on government coffers for help. They must mobilise civil society, church, private sector and overseas Jamaicans to develop their parish. They must be involved in the cultural, educational and sporting life of the constituency.

Furthermore, there is a tendency for MPs to be really aiming for a Cabinet post; notable exception was Derrick Rochester. Interestingly, when a person is no longer in Cabinet, he or she does run as an MP. They give up politics. In fact, many an MP does not see being a representative of the people, a legislator and being a watchdog of expenditure as primary.

In addition, Jamaicans should vote for their Executive. The Cabinet positions are important and one should have a say in who is one's Minister of Finance or Minister of Education or Minister of Housing. It makes little sense to vote for a MP but the equal important responsibility of Cabinet Minister we do not vote on the competence and character of the person.

How would voting for a Cabinet Minister work? The Political Leader and his/her party would have a slate of candidates and Jamaicans would vote for each person. It is possible that the voter would like the Minister of Finance from one slate and the Minister of Education from another of main political party and an independent person as Minister of Housing. The beauty of this scenario is that the voter could select the best persons without it based only on party considerations. This Executive would truly be inclusive of the best talents of the country. This will help unity in the country.

The implication is that the Cabinet positions would have to be identified and limited before the General Election are held. The Nettleford Committee has already done work on the number of Ministries and that could be used. Would this put the Prime Minister in a strait-jacket in not having special emphasis and new Ministries? No. Special emphasis would fall under the Office of the Prime Minister.

This arrangement would remove the stress from a Prime Minister of having to select a Cabinet. Especially when a Prime Minister wins by a landslide the job gets harder because most, if not all, MPs feel that they are Cabinet material.

So in a Jamaicanised Separation of Powers, the Parliament would consist of the MPs in addition to the Executive. The MPs would be like a Board of Governors and with this new status rather than being backbenchers they would monitor the implementation of projects by the Executive. They would also receive monthly reports from the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and quarterly reports from the other Ministries.

The MPs could also initiate legislation likewise members of the Executive.

This system would have checks and balances and each person would have a significant role to play and an important contribution to make.

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