Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

Prime Minister Bruce Golding says an office is to be established for the Leader of the Opposition. - file

WESTERN BUREAU:

With the conviction of revamping public sector agencies, Prime Minister Bruce Golding says changes must be effected to the Westminster system of government adopted by Jamaica years ago.

Addressing delegates at the Commonwealth Secretariat Carib-bean Consultative Forum at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay, St. James, on Thursday, the Prime Minister noted that the weakness inherited from Britain is the permanence it has assured.

According to Mr. Golding, though the Westminster system has its advantages, it can be architecture for constitutional dictatorship.

He said the current system was amorphous, noting that it makes it too easy for non-performing workers to remain in the sector.

"Part of the difficulty … part of what we inherited was a culture of honour and integrity, but what we have done, over time, is retain the outline of the system, and we have jettisoned the culture, and without that culture the Westminster system becomes dangerous," he said.

reform challenging

Clearing the way for Cabinet Secretary Dr. Carlton Davis to commence a series of public sector reform initiatives, which he said have so far proven challenging despite some significant progress, Mr. Golding said one challenge was how to extend the process service-wide. He said there were four things to determine the approach to improve efficiency, including clarity on the role of the worker, a defined mandate for each government agency and an appropriate structure to achieve these goals.

In the meantime, the Prime Minister said, as a part of his commitment to good governance, an office is to be established for the Leader of the Opposition.

According to Mr. Golding, it will not be a political office, but will allow the Opposition Leader to conduct meetings in a neutral setting to avoid discomfort by persons invited to these meetings.

He reiterated that the Government is also looking at revising the order of precedence in Parliament through elevating the rank of the Opposition Leader to just below that of the Prime Minister and in line with the Deputy Prime Minister.

He said that, to strengthen the role of the Opposition is one way of strengthening the role of Parliament. Mr. Golding added that all oversight committees will have an Opposition member as chairperson, and that he will be reinstituting the Vale Royal talks which he and former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson had initiated, allowing informal talks among MPs.

While many of his members are not supportive of this move, which they consider risky, they remain enthusiastic about his commitment to change the culture of politics in the country.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com