Garth Minott | Sovereignty is respect for the people

In a very robust and engaging panel discussion on the subject of constitutional reform, the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC), on May 2, signalled its intention to get involved in a process designed to reform the way we live, move, and being a nation.

With still much cynicism and many nonchalant approaches to national issues on the part of the majority of Jamaicans, seen, for example, in the ongoing plea of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) to find workers to collect data for the national census and the chronic low turnout of voters at national and local government elections, there is the recognition that there must be a way to address the general apathy and cynicism towards public affairs, in general, and governance, in particular.

The JCC, a faith-based organisation, has been involved in national life from its founding roots in the turbulent years of the 1930s in Jamaica. It shows that it has pedigree to address national issues and the ability to bring reason, balance, and good sense to national discourse. In organising the forum, it engaged a panel of academicians, a public advocate, and legal minds to lead the public discussion on the topic of constitutional reform, which seems foreign to some Jamaicans who simply desire to ‘eat a food’ while at the same time remaining disconnected from social and political issues. The JCC demonstrated that all is not lost, and with well over three hundred persons present face-to-face and online, there is every indication that people, in general, and religious communities, in particular, are still desirous of contributing positively to development.

POST-DIALOGUE STATEMENT

It is in this light that we are to view the very positive post-dialogue statement dubbed the Bethel Accord. House of God is the literal meaning of the Hebrew word for bethel, however, with reference to the Bethel Baptist Church in Half Way Tree, the location of the face-to-face conversation, the JCC says: “The panellists, in-person participants, and many of the online participants agreed that the proposed move to republican status must be a move to “centre the sovereignty of the people … .” This matter of the “sovereignty of the people” is germane to any discussion on the role of the Constitution with its focus on “… the Constitution … crafted for and by the people.”

Used for the first time in the 14th century in Europe, the phrase “sovereignty of the people” emerged at a time when there was great political and social upheaval and uncertainty and pointed to an orderly way of doing things. It meant pre-eminence, excellence, superiority, authority, rule, power, or rank, which embody characteristics usually associated with the gods but which are also embedded in the people. In Christian theology, it is the bethel phenomenon, with God as supreme and human beings made in God’s image becoming partners with God in the person of Jesus Christ, especially through our exalted status in the incarnation (John 1:14).

This means that God and humanity in one household are intimately related to each other in which sense there is no way to separate one from the other. For this reason, the sovereign ruler, king, or queen was understood as bearing the very image of God as ruler and equally subject with the people over whom they exercised leadership. No wonder, as in the case of the recent coronation of King Charles III, the religious leader hands the political leader the instruments of office as a reminder that all power, authority, and sovereignty ultimately come from and belong to God and leaders and people belong to bethel – the household or community of God.

VOX POPULI, VOX DEI

To say that the people are sovereign is to affirm the Latin phrase Vox populi, Vox Dei ,or the voice of the people is the voice of God, and though this has been taken to the extreme, as in the case of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, nevertheless, it is designed to affirm the utmost respect for the people and establish the need for integrity in governance. A constitution and the process that goes into writing or revising it are for the sake of good governance. Citizens must be consulted, not just for the purpose of an election, especially where it involves photo ops with babies turned into spectacles, distributing curried goat and rice, alcohol in abundance and rumours or reality of vote buying, are anachronistic or passé to the sovereignty of the people. A lack of consultation in an exercise like constitutional reform is not only inimical in a modern democracy, even where some people are focused on satisfying immediate needs. It smacks of disrespect for the people, the pursuit of power at all cost and for its own sake and is, frankly, tokenistic. The solution is respect for the sovereignty of the people, and this is non-negotiable.

The Bethel Accord emphasises the need to “centre the sovereignty of the people”. It is necessary to assert the central role of people of all ages who are worth and worthy of recognition at all times and throughout all stages of the democratic process, and participation in constitutional reform is no different. It is important to support efforts to sensitise children and young people about the reform process and their role in it. In which sense the process is not being left to a few interested members of the public, but steps are taken to ensure that the process permeates all aspects of Jamaican society to include culture, music, theology, sports, education, and health, among others.

Like me, I have no doubt that those who participated in the discussion were left in no doubt that more of these discussions are necessary. However, these fora are not to be perceived as mere talk shops, but spaces where genuine dialogue can take place, especially in anticipation that the outcome would influence national engagement on such a critical issue and contribute meaningfully to constitutional reform. It must be that the process is for and by the people. For this reason, the final product – the Constitution – must be viewed as a means to an end and not an end in itself. A constitution must serve the best interest of the people who must be viewed as sovereign in the Jamaican State. Sovereignty to the people is respect for the people.

- Rt Rev Garth Minott is Anglican Bishop of Kingston. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com