MONTEGO BAY, St James — Consideration is being given to setting up a sub-grouping of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) specifically to engage with members of the Diaspora who are interested in being part of Jamaica’s move to become a republic.

“Some members of the community believe that a subcommittee of the committee, along the lines of the communication subcommittee, should be established to interact with the Diaspora because there are substantial questions and issues concerning a very important part of our people, part of Jamaica,” said CRC member and Opposition spokesman on industry, investment and commerce Anthony Hylton. “How we can get them to engage even more than they do now (which is primarily around economic and other kinds of contribution).

“A number of them have been arguing for closer involvement in and contribution to, not just the economy but social and political life of the country so we believe there are some important questions there to be answered — and their engagement to that process is very important as well,” Hylton added.

He was speaking in Montego Bay during Wednesday evening’s first town hall meeting of the CRC. Hylton’s comments came in response to questions from well known member of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council Dr Karren Dunkley who sought clarity on plans to replicate consultations taking place in Jamaica beyond its borders “because we recognise that even the little pickney in our primary schools have to be engaged in this process” argued Dunkley, who had joined the discussions by Zoom.

CRC member Nadeen Spence, who was at the meeting held at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre, assured Dunkley that “the distance between us will not separate the quality of the engagement”. She also cited efforts already made to ensure that members of the Diaspora are engaged in the ongoing deliberations.

“l had consultation with the minister, with youth in the Diaspora, and I have been on a radio programme — facilitated by a Jamaican in the Diaspora — with members of the Diaspora. [They] fielded questions and I was able to answer as it relates to matters related to the constitution. We will seek to deepen that engagement with the Diaspora so that Jamaicans who live abroad can continue to make their impact,” Spence assured.

She encouraged Dunkley to share her ideas and let the CRC know if there is a group of individuals who wish to meet and discuss the issues, pointing her to a WhatsApp group through which she could become a part of the conversation.

Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte has long stressed that members of the Diaspora will have a voice in the process as Jamaica moves away from the British monarchy and becomes a republic. During Wednesday’s town hall meeting she once again noted that much focus is being placed on an issue that directly impacts members of the Diaspora: Commonwealth qualifications to sit in Parliament.

“The next questions that arise is what do we do with Jamaicans who have other citizenship — and in particular Jamaicans who live in the US [as] the US is not part of the Commonwealth — because currently those dual citizens [with] sworn allegiance to a foreign power would not qualify if we keep the definition of Commonwealth as it is,” she explained.

“Anything outside of the Commonwealth is foreign, and the truth is anything outside of Jamaica is foreign. But even making that change requires the people to approve it.…this issue really got us going and we are saying: ‘Do we disqualify these Jamaicans who went abroad for better at the time when the economy was in turmoil, broken, stagnating and then their children — born abroad [through] no choice of their own but are deeply connected to Jamaica — come back and live in Jamaica? So there are a lot of things,” she added.

Other town hall meetings by members of the CRC have been planned across the country.

The 15-member committee is tasked with providing expert guidance and oversight for Jamaica’s smooth transition from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Its members are drawn from the Government, the Opposition, constitutional law and governance experts, along with representatives from academia, the Church and civil society.