Gov't and opposition still at odds over proposed constitutional reform

By Kimone Witter    

 

The government and the parliamentary opposition remain at odds over proposed amendments to the Constitution.

 

The impasse took centre stage at Wednesday's first meeting of the Joint Select Committee reviewing The Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Act 2024.

 

The opposition has called for full de-colonisation, including the country moving away from the UK Privy Council as its final appellate court, rather than what it has termed the current piecemeal approach.

 

Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding warned that if there is no change to the process, opposition members on the Joint Select Committee would take no further part in the deliberations after today.

 

He insisted that the Caribbean Court of Justice must be made Jamaica's final appellate court under the reform process, instead of maintaining the UK-based Privy Council.

 

"The bills to move to the Caribbean Court of Justice, the CCJ, as Jamaica's final court of appeal, were tabled in this Parliament for the second time 10 years ago. Are the people of Jamaica not entitled to be told why the government has not tabled the CCJ bills again, thereby signalling that both sides, government and opposition, will work together to accomplish the twin objectives of transitioning both from the British monarchy and from the British monarch's court? Madam Chair, the answers that are first coming will determine the character of the opposition's cooperation in this exercise," Mr. Golding maintained. 

 

He said the opposition wants both sides of the political aisle to work together on both initiatives. 

 

But chairperson of the committee, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte, reiterated the government's position that the amendments to the Constitution will be done in stages.

 

"There is now within the political culture anecdotes that referenda are really not on the subject matter that goes to the electorate but on the performance of government. Prime Minister Holness has decided that he would take the political risk to move Jamaica forward and to move on, but like all risks they have to be managed, and we have seen how even with smaller changes systems have gone into chaos."

 

She said the government does not share the view that the current approach is a piecemeal one. 

 

"We are saying that we are implementing the reform goals in phases because if we bite off more than we can chew we may choke, and we certainly do not want to throw our system into chaos," she asserted.