AG office could be out of Cabinet for good

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has hinted that the move by his administration to "insulate" the office of the attorney general from the political directorate could become the norm.

Golding, who was speaking at the swearing-in of new Attorney General Ransford Braham at King's House yesterday, said this would depend on the effectiveness of the move to split the justice ministry and the Attorney General's Department and remove the attorney general from the Cabinet.

"We thought we needed to make a significant departure. Whether or not that will be retained by governments in the future is left to be seen," he said.

"A lot will depend on what is proven to be the efficacy of this arrangement."

Opposition Spokesman on Justice, Senator Mark Golding, giving his personal views, said he, too, would be watching to see how this new arrangement functions going forward and would keep an open mind.

Senator Golding was, however, adamant that the new arrangement would require further modification.

"I do not believe that it is correct for the prime minister to simply appoint somebody, engage that person as attorney general and he is not accountable to the Public Services Commission or the Parliament," he told The Gleaner yesterday.

"He is only accountable to the prime minister. That can't be right."

The Government's decision to separate the justice ministry and the Attorney General's Department and remove the attorney general from the Cabinet was in keeping with one of the recommendations made in the report of the Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry.

Inherent conflict of interest

Seeking to justify the Government's decision to accept the recommendation, the prime minister argued that there was an "inherent conflict of interest" in having the attorney general serve as a member of the Cabinet.

"As a member of the Cabinet, the attorney general has to accept the collective responsibility of the Cabinet," he said.

"But the question as to whether those decisions (of Cabinet) were fully consistent with the advice and opinion provided by the attorney general is a subject that will always be subjected to speculation."

Senator Golding conceded that there could have been a conflict of interest under the previous arrangement, but said he was not convinced that the way the Government went about tackling this was the way to go.

"I am not saying it's a perfect system, but simply for the Government to have adopted what the commissioners in the Manatt-Dudus enquiry said without any wider public consultation, is an unsatisfactory way of approaching this particular issue," Senator Golding said.

The prime minister said Braham, who served as senior partner at the law firm, Livingston, Alexander and Levy, would be required to attend all sittings of Cabinet.