An open letter to the Prime Minister

May 27, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
My missive here is an open letter to the Prime Minister. I saw on the news recently that you are the one in the Coalition entrusted to explore the possibilities of constitutional change. As such it behooves me to write to you on this matter. This country has been rocked by scandal after scandal by both the PPP/C and the Coalition governments while the populace has been reduced to being mere spectators. This is testimony that our democracy is not working for the masses. When democracy fails it is only logical that we look to the source- the constitution. We need dynamic changes to our constitution.
You would be aware that our present constitution was foisted upon us by a rigged referendum in 1978. The PPP of which you were a member then, had successfully called for a boycott of the referendum in 1978. Having regained power in 1992 to 2015, the PPP did very little to change the constitution – you being with them in the early days too. The present leaders of the PPP/C have no interest in constitutional change because the present constitution served them well. They all amassed great wealth and with the fortunes of the coalition drifting further south in the hearts of the people, they (PPP) fancy their chances to achieve “nirvana” once again in 2020.
Our parliament could at best be described as a numerical institute where numbers 33 versus 32 will remain as constant as the northern star despite the merits or demerits of any argument. Political allegiance is supreme to logical reasoning in our Parliament. If democracy means “Goverment of the people for the people and by the people” our constitution is enshrined to deliver Government of the politicians by the politicians on the people. I would like to see changes in the way we elect our parliamentarians. I would like to see this country divided into 41 geographical constituencies based on the distribution of population.
Regional elections should be replaced by constituency elections and national election by presidential elections on the ballot. There should not be more than three persons on the ballot in each constituency. These persons must reside in the constituency for at least one year before elections. These persons can be politically aligned or independent. Any interested individual in a constituency shall be required to submit a list of 200 signatures from persons within their constituency to support their candidacy to Gecom.
In the above scenario, a parliamentarian would be an elected person serving the people of his or her constituency and not the beast (political party). Likewise our search for a president should not be limited to what the political parties throw at us. People of acumen from civic society should be allowed to contest too. Political parties could field more than one candidate too. There should be no more than six names on the ballot for presidential election. These should be chosen through submission of 1000 signatures to Gecom on a countrywide basis. The state must provide not less than 15 million dollars to each candidate to campaign so as to avoid the incidence of patronage. Patronage breeds corruption!
There should be no secret voting in parliament on national issues; the people will need to know how their MPs voted on issues for future elections. The person a president chooses to elect for civic duties such as Chairman of Gecom, judges etc should get parliamentary approval. The Auditor General’s office should be merged with the public accounts committee and be given special powers to prosecute any office bearer employed by the state for financial and administrative impropriety.
In such cases the entire parliament should be the jurors. Sir our present constitution puts the masses at the mercy of the government we elect. Unless it is changed to give better representation of the people there will always be corruption, dissatisfaction and delusion.
Sir your long career is heading for the crossroads in 2020. Being the one in the coalition entrusted to look at constitutional reform, you have a chance to glide effortlessly into the sunset or do something big for this country and leave your name in history. You can make us stand and say “we the people” or trust the “luck of the Irish “on the side of the untouchables and ride into oblivion after 2020. Sir I am no fan of yours. But! I still think you have enough charisma to inspire a victory for yourself in your constituency; even the presidency if you can be instrumental in the aforementioned changes to the constitution. The choice is yours-be the hero or the villain.
Rudolph Singh

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