I will readily admit that I have been one of the most persistent critics of the work of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC), which was assembled by the Government to assess and make recommendations for the direction in which the country should go to achieve complete sovereignty over her affairs.

It would be unfortunate if my views have been considered partisan or self-seeking. They are driven by one thing and one thing only: that if Jamaica is to have full sovereignty over its affairs, there has to be radical reform and not any cosmetic adjustments to the present status quo. I am resolute in my belief that Jamaica’s full control over its sovereignty cannot lie in the mere removal of the King as monarchical head of State or in the repatriation of our appellate jurisdiction from the UK Privy Council.

When I speak of radical change, I am talking about a shaking of the foundations, a situation in which the system with which we have operated since 1962 is completely revamped. If it is going to be business as usual, as the CRC seems to be suggesting, we will remove the King and have a ceremonial president who will merely be a replica of the defunct governor general. The prime minister would still enjoy the almost dictatorial privileges that inhere in the present system. The parliamentary system of a Cabinet being selected from the people’s representatives in Parliament instead of attending to the needs of their constituents and the people’s business as legislators would continue apace. And we perhaps would not have term limits.

My problem with the CRC is that members do not seem sufficiently, if at all, seized of the necessity for this radical change. One gets the distinct impression that they just want to make cosmetic changes to the present status quo. For them it seems sufficient that the King is given the boot but nothing should be done to interfere with the present arrangements of the Westminster model that came with the King.

If they were seized, they would not have set the timelines that were suggested, the first of which was May 2023, which they were forced to abandon as a result of public disapproval. Now there is an indecent haste to send a report to the Cabinet for presentation to the Parliament. But the latest effort has run into a roadblock as Opposition Leader Mark Golding has said that his party will not sign on to the report. Mark you, his two representatives on the committee have already given their blessings in the spirit of goodwill and consensus.

It is clear that the Opposition People’s National Party has its own agenda, a matter that may have to be given fulsome treatment later. But, for now, one does not hear the party talking about radical reform and, frankly, neither does one expect it to. One does not expect the ruling Jamaica Labour Party to entertain any radical change that will diminish its power or control over the power arrangements in the present system. Both sides are not prepared to put the people at the centre; their agenda be damned. To put them at the centre and to give them justiciable rights, as one past prominent politician averred at the discussion of the constitution in 1962, would derogate from the sovereignty of Parliament.

The people must understand that we cannot depend on politicians to determine for us the directions that are needed. Left to them, the present arrangements would persist. We the people have to insist on the change that we need, which is why we must be stubborn in our insistence that we have robust public discussion on the matter, with every available communication media, town meetings, and public engagement necessary. We must not allow ourselves to be duped. What the CRC is attempting to do, while ignoring full public participation in its deliberations, would be laughable, if it were not so serious. This elitism will not cut it.

We must spend time to get this right. The speed at which the CRC seems intent on going is an insult to the intelligence of the Jamaican people. We will not have another time to bring the lasting changes we need to our governance. Again, I appeal to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the man on the bridge, to slow the process and let us all work to get this right. A referendum on the fundamental matters, such as removal of the King, cannot occur before the next general election in September 2025.

And you, Prime Minister, might not relish such a referendum because it may very well be a referendum on you and your Government. This is political capital you do not want to spend. In the meantime, since the ill-fated report is coming to your Cabinet, advise your members to use the period between now and the next election to work on a strategy to engage the people of Jamaica in every forum available on the matter.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.