Steer the ship, minister

THE EDITOR, Madam:

This is an open letter of generous encouragement to Minister Delroy Chuck.

Greetings, Minister:

Now that the constitutional reform process is once again among your portfolio responsibilities, you will recall that I once occupied the position which you hold.

As such, were Prime Minister P. J. Patterson to have issued a public invitation to Opposition Leader Edward Seaga for them to “partner together” to tackle an aspect of the constitutional reform agenda, for example, it could never be imagined that before receiving a reply to his invitation, he would have written to the Opposition leader suggesting or ordering or proposing that he meet with the justice minister as an initial step.

Should there be such an out-of-character, awkward move on the prime minister’s part, would the Opposition leader not be completely faultless in observing to him that, in accepting his invitation, the initial step calls for both of them to meet face-to-face to settle the parameters of their partnering together?

How else, pray?

There is no way that a youth organ of our party could, over my head, as minister, run to the press accusing the Opposition leader of being “arrogant”, more so when he is being Solomonic in his observation to the prime minister.

What is more, for us, it would be a clear non-starter for the youth organisation to be intervening publicly in such a weighty matter between the two political leaders.

Surely, you do not consider it to be quite in order for a youth organ of your party to publicly accuse the country’s Opposition leader of arrogance and more in such circumstances, when he has replied to the prime minister, offering to provide the very help that is sought of him.

There has to be an urgent general understanding, projected by you, that in this reform process exercise, the Constitution grants to both sides co-equal power both to take the process forward and to retard it.

Collaboration/partnering-together is the only route to success. There is no other! Prime Minister Bruce Golding laid it out for you and your colleagues in the House in the Charter of Rights debate in 2010.

Recall, also, that it was only by that means of cooperation that the Charter could have been passed. Prime Minister Holness has now, at long last, properly stretched forth the hand, inviting that indispensable partnership.

In the constitutional reform process, the two leaders must meet face-to-face not only for the initial step, but from time-to-time. For success, it has to be an ongoing, active partnership!

As justice minister, it falls to you to serenely steer the ship by, among other things, guiding your Cabinet colleagues and party functionaries along the correct constitutional path for the development of our people whose interests the process is meant to serve.

I encourage you to get off the mark, minister, to get set. It’s time to go. We are watching you! Every blessing!

A. J. NICHOLSON