Full year education on constitutional reform
NIA director says citizens must gain full understanding of issues related to Jamaica becoming a republic
Published:Friday | June 16, 2023 | 12:51 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
PROFESSOR TREVOR Munroe, the founding director of National Integrity Action (NIA), is recommending that Jamaica’s constitution reform committee should spend at least one year compiling educational material to properly inform the nation on all the factors involved in turning Jamaica into a republic.
Addressing a town hall meeting on the subject at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland late Wednesday evening, Munroe stated that citizens need to know the positive and negative aspects of Constitutional reform in order to make an informed choice about whether they will agree to it or not.
“For people to decide whether they wish to become a republic, they would need to know the pros and cons of being a republic, and the different types of republic. Therefore, one of the recommendations that I would like to put, and it was put by NIA, is that for one entire year, the constitution reform committee, along with custodes and others, develop the material that would say to people, becoming a republic has this advantage or this disadvantage, so that the people themselves in the course of that educational process can make up their minds,” said Munroe.
“Thereafter, we can talk about the possibility of a referendum. But at least there should be one year of public education in order to understand that there are republics which are less democratic than we are, and then there are republics which are all democratic,” Munroe added.
The NIA director proposed that the education campaign should be done by using every available platform that the members of the public can access.
“We must insist that the minutes of these meetings [of the constitution reform committee] be published; 12 meetings have been held so far, but only three meetings have been developed and put on their Website. We must insist that no decisions are taken, for example, about a ceremonial president and an executive president, without the people getting educated about the pros and cons of each and having a chance to give their opinion,” said Munroe.
“The constitution reform committee should be urged to publish simple explanations on all platforms, traditional media, social media, TikTok, you name it, so that people can get an understanding of the basic questions we have to make a decision on.”
Get proactive
That call, if adhered to, would go hand-in-hand with a recommendation made last month by attorney-at-law and youth advocate Christina Howell that Jamaicans should get proactive in educating themselves on the constitutional reform process instead of expecting such details to be delivered to them.
The Constitutional Reform Committee, which was named by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on March 22 this year, is expected to guide the three-part constitutional reform process, which includes focusing on abolition of the constitutional monarchy, establishment of republican status for Jamaica, and assessing the country’s legal and constitutional infrastructure to facilitate putting together a new constitution.
In the meantime, Munroe stressed that consideration for human rights should play an important role in the discussion on constitution reform.
“One important condition for us going forward is to ensure and insist that the strengthening of human rights for Jamaican people, which was done in 2011 with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, not be watered down. There are people who believe that our rights are too strong and that they need to be watered down, but for the human rights, equality, and justice that all of us wish to see, what we need is to build on those right rights rather than water them down,” said Munroe.