An interim report on constitutional reform has detailed how to balance executive powers with that of the judiciary and the legislature, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has said.
The final report of the Steering Committee on Constitutional Reform (SCCR) is expected to be submitted within two weeks, Nagamootoo told reporters last week. He emphasised that the SCCR is not a constitutional committee but a steering committee to advise on the areas that should be or ought to be looked into in any constitutional reform process.
Describing the interim report as a “good document,” Nagamootoo said it goes into some areas that are very detailed in terms of what ought to be changed in the constitution. “It includes looking at the powers of the presidency, the executive as such…what we had said during the campaign that we are gonna tame some of those powers, we’re gonna look also at the geographic system whether you have enough representation in the Parliament from geographic constituencies,” he related.
“So they had gone into some details on how to change the nature of our parliamentary democracy and how to balance the executive powers with the power of the judiciary and that of the legislature,” the Prime Minister added. He said it was a very detailed excursion into a long list of areas.
According to the Prime Minister, his expectation when the final report is out, is that it will identify priorities and timelines because they want the reforms to be completed before another general election.
Earlier, he had noted that with the completion of the report, the constitutional reform process would take on a new life. He explained that the President would appoint a commission and it will set up some mechanism called a module for constitutional reform. He said there could be a constituent assembly and evidence for reforms could be taken in different parts of the country and also from different sections of society. According to Nagamootoo, they are hoping not for “a kind of armchair constitutionalizing,” but to go to the grassroots.
He had noted that the SCCR which is headed by attorney Nigel Hughes had initially committed to submit a full report at the end of last month. An interim report was submitted at the end of December but the committee had asked for more time. However, Nagamootoo said he got the impression that with the death of SCCR member Haslyn Parris recently, there would be a deferral of the submission of the final report for a few weeks.
“When that happens I’m gonna make the final report available. I can even be advised as to whether the final report should be tabled in Parliament and to set up the committee that will take it further,” Nagamootoo said.
In August, Nagamootoo had appointed Hughes as the Convener and had also appointed Professor Harold Lutchman, Parris, Geeta Chandan-Edmond and Gino Persaud as members of the SCCR.
The SCCR was tasked with laying the groundwork for a new constitutional reform process. Its work entailed formulating proposals on the manner, nature and conduct of the constitutional reform process.
Constitutional reform was a major plank in the APNU+AFC’s elections campaign and areas highlighted included the presidency, governance and the term limits.
Nagamootoo had previously emphasised that the SCCR would not undertake any change to the existing constitution but was mandated to define the scope of the actual reform process and establish the terms of reference and mechanisms for consultation to establish a Constitution Reform Commission.
