PORT OF SPAIN, (IPS) – As it stands now, the office of the president of Trinidad and Tobago is largely ceremonial. But if the draft document on a new constitution released by the Patrick Manning government last week is anything to go by, that could change dramatically.
The government has said that it wants broad public debate on the new 168-page document, insisting that the approach should be non-partisan and that “all members of civil society have a duty to be intensively engaged in this process”.
Manning says it represents one of the most important political exercises since the oil-rich republic attained political independence from Britain in 1962.
“We must give it the seriousness it deserves and I urge all citizens to get involved,” he said.
The document covers the presidency, parliament, cabinet and executive powers, as well as the role of the director of public prosecutions, the judiciary and final appellate court, the service commission and the Bill of Rights.
It is the result of at least 31 meetings of a “round table” group of prominent people that included former President Sir Ellis Clarke, 91, who was involved in drafting the island’s first constitution and was the chief architect of the 1976 Republican Constitution, government ministers and members of the non-governmental Principle of Fairness Committee.
However, the document outlines a new role for the president that at least one civil society group said would institutionalise undemocratic and dictatorial government in the country.
“The president would have virtually the same powers that the monarch had thousands of years. Under that system, the citizens did not have any rights and they depended upon the generosity and good heartedness of the king, the queen or the emperor,” said the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association (TTCRA).
“The president would, under this new constitution, be a politician who would have effective control over the judiciary, the police service, the public service and the teaching service,” it added.
According to the draft document, the president will be the leader of a political party winning the most seats in a general election, and who in turn as head of government and state will be responsible for the appointment of top constitutional officers, including members of an enlarged Parliament.
It puts a cap on the cabinet at 25, but gives the president a free hand in selecting 17 members from outside of the Parliament.
“We don’t need a king at this point in time of our development. What we want is more power to the people,” said Hazel Brown, coordinator of the non-governmental organisation, the Network of NGOs.
She told IPS that while her organisation would be playing its role in getting the population, particularly women and grassroots organisations, involved in the public discussions, it believes that any new constitution “should confine to the principles of good governance”.
“That is what we will be looking for in Trinidad and Tobago at this time — how we could have better participatory government,” she said.
The Constitutional Reform Forum, composed of academics, trade unionists and NGOs as well as concerned individuals, said it was disappointed that the authorities did not accept its recommendation that would have resulted in the engagement of the public from the start of the process.
“We proposed the establishment of a Secretariat that would be responsible for educating people as well as providing options [on constitutional reform] …and then validate that by way of a referendum,” said David Abdullah of the Forum, who is also president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN).
“We should insist on a proper process. What does the population want in a constitution? We should start from that rather than from a debate on a draft,” he told IPS.
He predicts that once the public begins to debate the draft document put out by the government, it would be safe to assume that a significant number of the measures would find their way before the Parliament.
Abdullah said he does not see the government acquiring the special majority in the Parliament needed to affect changes to the constitution, especially since Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday told reporters that his party, while in favour of an executive president, believes that person should be elected by the people in a separate election.
“We are for an executive president but an elected executive president. We have always been for that,” he said, adding that “the prime minister will become an executive president without facing the polls”.
In an editorial, Trinidad’s NEWSDAY said the draft document “not only alters the mechanics of the Constitution but undermines the most universal tenets of constitutional accountability”, while the Express newspaper argued that it is going to be difficult “to agree to a constitution that gives the sitting Prime Minister or, for that matter, one from any party in power, the sweeping powers that the ‘working document’ throws up”.
TTCRA said that it is also concerned that the draft document would seek to alter the right to the freedom of the press and religion as well as free speech and expression.
TTCRA president and former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said he was concerned about subjecting the director of public prosecutions to direction by the attorney general in matters involving official secrets, terrorism and inter-state relations.
“This is a clear interference by the executive in the prosecution process,” Maharaj said. “The manipulation of the prosecution process is one of the greatest weapons which has been used by dictators to silence politicians, judges, trade unionists, members of the media and others who are opposed to or give critical views against presidents who are dictators.”
President of the Criminal Bar Association Desmond Allum said he too feared an erosion of “the line between the executive and the judiciary” if the draft document is implemented.
“The DPP’s [director of public prosecutions] powers will now be so fettered by the office of the attorney general that he would really be totally lacking independence and could be manipulated by politician,” he said. “The judiciary will become like another arm of executive.”
Ironically, his concerns were aired less than 24 hours after the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) published a report detailing a three-year-old impasse it has had with the prime minister over the selection of a solicitor general, who acts as the government’s chief legal advisor as well as advising the president, the clerks of the Houses of Parliament and government ministries.
The JLSC, chaired by Chief Justice Ivor Archie, noted in its 2007 annual report released last Friday that it is required by the constitution to consult with the prime minister in making the appointment, but has encountered “difficulties” because of Manning’s exercise of his veto powers.