ANALYSIS
Analysing The Seeds for a Homegrown Constitution Reflections on the 17 th Annual Patrick A. M. Emmanuel Memorial Lecture by Rahym R. Augustin-Joseph
the makeup, functions and purposes of their constitutional and political architecture, which meant, according to Simeon McIntosh, that our Independence Constitutions were not and are still not our own. In solving this dilemma and ensuring ownership, we must heed his advice of repatriating our constitutional instruments and no longer loitering on colonial premises long after the expiration date. The expiration date should signal our commencement of reimagining our independence project, where for the first time, we should embark upon our constitutional remodelling from within, not seeking to solely borrow from foreign models and concepts. It is this urgency of the need to no longer loiter and, in turn, imbue ‘the seeds for a homegrown constitution’ which, in part, ensures that there is an indigenous creation of institutions, processes, and governance structures that emanates from
the specific visions, hearts and souls of the people of Barbados. This informed the 17 th Annual Patrick A. M. Emmanuel Lecture delivered by Professor Richard Albert and held by the Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology. In his lecture, Professor Albert provided important guidelines and recommendations on what is required to imbue ‘the seeds of a homegrown constitution’. One would not be incorrect if they asserted that the former proposals and reforms in Barbados merely tinkered at the edges and did not rescue the Constitution from its foreign imposition. Some might even argue that the most recent Constitution (Amendment) (No.2) Bill that mirrored some of the recommendations in the Forde Commission , which removed and replaced the Governor General with a ceremonial President, provided the office with similar powers, and changed the mode of appointment, was the commencement of
I t was not by happenstance that Barbados and other Commonwealth Caribbean architecture and political system with all of the trappings of the former colonial powers and with little to no modifications. As a matter of fact, the Commonwealth Caribbean continues to hold on to the trappings, like a godchild whose godparents have not bothered to take countries, at the turn of political independence, were victims of an imposed constitutional care of them and who have moved on with their lives. In most instances, there was little input from the peoples in determining Rahym R. Augustin-Joseph Third-year Political Science and Law student The UWI, Cave Hill
‘Homegrown’ must also be defined delicately, as we must find mechanisms to persuade our peoples that a mirrored constitution is not limited to the tyranny of their majority but must also protect minority rights.
CHILL NEWS 29
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs