REFORMNG THE CONSTITUTION

Sep 05, 2015 Editorial

The country is approaching its 50th independence anniversary next year. This is a very important milestone for a nation that has endured a wide range of constitutional abuses. It is accordingly appropriate that the nation should reflect on the experience with its Independence constitution that was enacted in 1966, as well as on some of the proposals and changes that have been advanced for reform in 1980. The present constitution has not only outlived its usefulness, it no longer serves the will of the people.
Guyana, like Ghana and South Africa, has a hybrid system of presidential and parliamentary system of governance in which Parliament is controlled by the majority party or parties. The discussion about reforming the Constitution should involve the desire to give Parliament more powers of scrutiny over the executive and to make sure that laws passed by Parliament are not overturned by the Courts.
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land—a preeminent document with no regards for the role of the court.
The political and constitutional impasse over presidential term limits is still to be resolved. The lower courts have ruled that the term limit imposed by the constitution is illegal and unconstitutional. The matter is heading to a higher court. The court also ruled that the budget reductions made by the majority opposition in Parliament in 2012 and 2013 were unconstitutional.
The mere fact that the Court encroached on the turf of the Constitution and negated two of its important clauses has demonstrated the urgent need for a comprehensive review and reform of the document and the system of government.
Surely, politicians must recognize that serious reforms of the Constitution are long overdue and that changes must be made to reflect the recent advances in society. At the moment, the stakes are very high, but the people are optimistic that the authorities will perform their duties accordingly and reform the Constitution to coincide with government policymaking.
The citizens are aware that the present constitution is flawed because of the powers of impunity it bestows on the executive and its inability to harness the true potential of the nation.The President is Head of State with almost absolute power. He also has the power to dissolve and recall Parliament and dictate its agenda.
So any discussion about constitutional reform would be incomplete without some reference to reduce the powers of the executive and at the same time strengthen the powers of Parliament. The people have shown a clear dissatisfaction with the perceived power of the elected officials and their not so stellar performance.
One issue that has emerged as an important constitutional matter is the fact that parliamentarians are not held accountable for their actions or inactions by their constituents. There is the lack of mechanisms to ensure greater levels of governance, transparency and accountability of elected officials and senior public officers.
Historically, most parliamentary systems of governance have no time limit or recall of elected officials. Term limit restriction should be one of the entrenched provisions in the new constitution.
Guyana needs a Constitution that gives the voters the choice and the right to recall their members of Parliament. The terminology is used to describe a process whereby the electorate can petition to trigger a vote on the suitability of an existing elected representative to continue in office. The intention of these recall provisions would be to ensure that MPs perform their constituency duties to the satisfaction of their constituents throughout their term of office.
These recommendations present a real opportunity for the elected officials to make genuine and concrete political changes that will require the political parties to actually reform the constitution and change the way they operate and force them to observe standards of ethics and probity that they and the current system take for granted.
There are too many elected officials who complain about the Constitution, but when faced with the real prospect of changing or reforming it, they quietly shy away from their responsibility.

Latest News

REFORMNG THE CONSTITUTION

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 11th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Guyana to participate at 2024 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup

Three debutants in Golden Jaguars squad to face...

Guyana Badminton Association team to compete in...

Guyana/West Indies Legend Alvin Kallicharan...

CWIMA to host Windies Masters Extravaganza in...

Bent Street settle Back Circle 1-0 to lift...

Features/Columnists

A presidential display of “Project Management”

Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all

A Trump victory and me

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

REFORMNG THE CONSTITUTION

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 11th, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]