Dear Editor,

Much of the time of the Manatt Enquiry, over the past several days, surrounds what has become known as the “secret MOUs”. Secret because, by his own admission, the former Minister of National Security Dr Peter Phillips entered into these arrangements with the United States and the United Kingdom without the knowledge of the Cabinet. This brings into question the concept of collective responsibility. The comments I hear from the man in the street suggests that very little is known about it.

Cabinet collective responsibility is a constitutional convention in governments using the Westminster system. It requires that decisions on important issues of policy should not be taken by individual ministers and that decisions, once taken by Cabinet, should be actively supported by all members of the government. Any minister who fails to observe it is normally expected to resign. The Cabinet is the government’s central decision-making body. All major decisions of policy must be made by Cabinet. If there is a policy failure or lapse on the part of the government, all the members of the Cabinet are responsible. If there is a no-confidence vote, the government is expected to resign. I think it would be difficult to maintain stable government without collective responsibility, as it is the basis on which the system of ministerial government rests. One can understand the public concern therefore, when it is revealed that four MOUs – affecting the lives of Jamaicans – are signed with foreigners without the knowledge of Cabinet and the prime minister.

Imagine, if you will, Mrs Portia Simpson Miller assuming office as prime minister after defeating Dr Phillips for that post. She is on her feet as prime minister answering questions that could have been affected by these MOUs, but she knows nothing about them. She could be severely embarrassed. Her detractors would use it against her and her supporters – particularly in this case – might impute motive on the part of Dr Phillips, still smarting from his loss to her.

In comes a new government formed by the JLP. Dr Phillips himself raises this Manatt matter in Parliament and is at the forefront of a blistering, sustained, moralistic attack on the new government. He scoffs at claims by PM Golding that there are difficiencies in the request and his party screams to the world that Golding and his government have hired and paid a law firm to protect the leader of an “international criminal organisation” who is wanted by the US.

The world is stunned! The government comes within a hair’s breadth of being hounded from office. It is damaged irreparably while it maintains that there are flaws in the extradition request. In a meeting with the US authorities, it is revealed that there are MOUs affecting Jamaican citizens which our government knows nothing about and the Americans are unwilling to share this information. All this time, the character of Bruce Golding takes the kind of battering from which he may never fully recover. They search for the MOUs while those who know about them remain silent. It is only after months of searching that they are found safely tucked away at Up Park Camp. Am I the only Jamaican who finds this very, very disturbing? This makes one ask, “How many more secret MOUs are in existence”? I understand that these MOUs have to do with the military. If this is true, was the minister of national security the appropriate minister to sign these MOUs? By the way, what about IOUs? Are there any secret ones to be revealed?

The attorney for the JLP stated that these agreements were beneficial to the US only. This raised the ire of the noisiest of the attorneys, Mr KD Knight. Representing the PNP, he disagreed, claiming that it was also beneficial to Jamaica. But how can an agreement be beneficial to Jamaica if Jamaica does not know it exists?

I am in no position to know what was in Dr Phillips’ mind when he acted as he did. I think, however, that the country would support my position that matters of this magnitude must reflect the collective wisdom of Cabinet or at least the prime minister.

Glenn Tucker

Kingston 9

glenntucker2011@gmail.com