Rosalea Hamilton | Executive president without improved governance is big trouble!

Responding to a Gleaner query at a Mona Heights flag-raising ceremony on August 6, Patricia Duncan Sutherland, shadow minister for social transformation and protection, expressed a preference for an executive president.

This has raised questions about the PNP’s position on the matter since she represented the party leader at the event. A similar preference was also expressed by attendees at the “Road to Republic” Town Hall Meeting held at Emancipation Park on July 25 in response to the recommendation of a non-executive president by the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC). Some want an executive president as both head of state and head of government. Others want the executive president to replace the governor general as head of state while retaining a prime minister as head of government.

Either choice will be problematic for Jamaica without addressing our inherited governance problems embedded in our constitution, in particular, the overentralisation of power in the hands of the prime minister.

In September 2023, a Don Anderson poll suggested that more Jamaicans support an executive president (36 per cent) than a ceremonial president (30 per cent). However, 64 per cent either had no preference, were not sufficiently informed, or would choose to maintain the current system with a British head of state. This finding suggests that there is no majority consensus on an executive president. In that same poll, nearly 50 per cent of Jamaicans agreed that the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has too much power. After 62 years, Jamaicans understand that unfettered, top-down decision-making does not work. Jamaicans want better mechanisms for their voices to be heard. What is needed is a redesign of the structure of government to address the core constitutional design flaws to enable participatory decision making, not simply changing the head of state (whether executive or non-executive).

EXECUTIVE PRESIDENTIAL POWER VS PEOPLE POWER

Concepts of an executive president from other jurisdictions do not address the main governance flaws embedded in the design of the Jamaican Constitution. These flaws include the concentration of power in the Cabinet and the prime minister (PM) without adequate provisions for oversight, the executive dominance of the Legislature in Parliament, and weak mechanisms to enable the voice of the people to be heard.

An executive president as head of state and head of government is likely to concentrate more power in a unified office by adding the powers of the governor general to the powers of the prime minister. To address the problem of overcentralisation, proponents for an executive president must clarify the functions and powers of the executive president. What exactly will the executive president do? Will the president have the power to issue executive orders at the national and local levels to ensure that the Government’s mandate is implemented? Will the president have veto powers over legislative decisions? How will this awesome power be used to reflect the will of the Jamaican people? What oversight mechanisms will be established to ensure that these powers will not be abused or used in the interest of a few? What exactly will be the role/responsibility of the executive president in ensuring “people sovereignty” in a republic?

Proponents of an executive presidency vaguely suggest that direct election by the people and the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches will yield better accountability and more effective outcomes. However, when one party controls the two separate branches of government, how will the president or members of his/her executive be held accountable to the people? The American experience suggests that impeachment can be an ineffective tool for accountability. The tendency to dictatorial rule, especially in the context of Jamaica’s history of authoritarian leadership, seems inevitable.

Importantly, unless specific provisions are included in the Constitution to strengthen the voice of the people, an authoritarian executive president is likely to thwart the will of the people after being elected. Lessons should be learnt from our current constitutional design, which enables the people to elect their representatives without adequate mechanisms for oversight and opportunities for their voice to be heard. In the absence of specific constitutional provisions to address these flaws, an executive president is likely to perpetuate leader-centric, top-down governance with no devolution of power to people in communities across Jamaica.

IMPROVED GOVERNANCE NECESSARY

Our primary focus in the constitutional reform discussions should be to improve governance, to decentralise power, and enable people to influence decisions that directly affect their lives. In a republic, a government of the people, for the people, and by the people must be rooted in a strengthened system of local government with provisions for community empowerment. To enhance the social and economic objectives of the people, we must give real, effective meaning to “effective participation of local communities in the affairs of local government” (s.2(4)(a), The Constitution (Amendment) (Local Government) Act, 2015 as well as the stated objectives under s.3 of the Local Governance Act, 2016.

This will require a redesign of the structure of government that gives real power to local government. It is time to end the paternalistic relationship of central government which perpetuates Cabinet dominance of local decisions, limits the powers of municipalities, and thwarts the right to community self-determination. Among other things, this should include effective oversight of the executive by lawmakers at the national and local levels. Importantly, the design should ensure non-executive control of the law-making process with specific arrangements for public participation in the process. Unless we address these governance issues in reforming our Constitution, an executive president is likely to exacerbate the governance problems we currently face, especially the problem of overcentralisation of power and related authoritarian rule. Without constitutional provisions to improve governance, an executive president is likely to consolidate presidential sovereignty instead of people sovereignty. This will create big trouble for Jamaica for generations to come!

Rosalea Hamilton, PhD, is founding director, Institute of Law & Economics. Send feedback to rosaleahamilton@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com.