WESTERN BUREAU:

Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding says that if the present Government does not make use of the opportunity to have Jamaica become a republic by dispensing with the Queen as its head of state, the next People’s National Party (PNP) government will do so.

While acknowledging that becoming a republic and moving away from the monarchy as Jamaica’s head of state requires consensus in Parliament, Golding emphasised that the PNP is fully committed to such a move, and has always been.

“We (The PNP) have made it clear that we are ready to proceed, and we would like to do it more quickly; we would love to do it this year, but I think the prime minister has indicated that he is working with a two-year time frame. But we want to get it done, so we will cooperate, and he will have our support. We think it’s an important step for Jamaica as an independent country to have a Jamaican as a head of state,” he stated.

The Opposition leader made the comments during an interview while on a tour of Hanover. He said that the tour is about the PNP reconnecting with its base supporters, and to meet, greet and build some amount of momentum, as even though the local government election is overdue, it is still a mystery when it will be called.

While expressing the view that he thinks the time is right for Jamaica to become a republic, Golding argued that the experience coming out of the 1961 referendum has created some amount of hesitancy in subsequent Jamaican governments, adding that a referendum is a constitutional requirement for such a move.

Making Jamaica into a republic by removing the Queen as the country’s head of state has been a subject of discussion in Jamaica for years. However, no political party had shown the bravery to make such a decisive move in the past.

The matter of becoming a republic has become a hot topic of discussion lately, as Barbados made such a move recently.

Former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has expressed regret that he did not manage to achieve such a feat during his extensive tenure as leader of the Government between 1992 and 2006.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has stated that he is not into mere symbolism, and more recently told a member of the British royalty that he is ready to move on.

Golding expressed the view that the majority of Jamaicans would want to see such changes take place.

“Such a move is a fundamental governance issue for the country, and if it is not done now, it will be done when we (the PNP) are in office, and we would expect the Opposition at that time to support the move as well,” he stated.

With there being some set processes to be followed to achieve the goal of becoming a republic, no set timetable has been given by the present Government with regard to achieving that goal.