REPUBLIC CONCERNS

Government is being told to ‘wheel and come again’ as it relates to Barbados’ move to becoming a Republic. With the transition promised to be complete by Independence this year, University lecturer Dr. Ronnie Yearwood made this call during his recent lecture at the Barbados Yacht Club titled ‘Is a Republic a New Future for Barbados?’

Stating that the constitution and country are unfinished works, Yearwood, a law lecturer at The University of the West Indies, explained that there was a lot to be unpacked when it came to the history of our governance and what we should be aspiring to.

“The fact is that Barbados was not formed out of any love for liberty or gifting of freedoms. It was formed from generations of violence and inequality perpetuated by its legal, political and socio-economic system. The undeniable fact is that in our Constitution, there is a silence about the terror and violence that lay at the heart of the formation of our society. We must remind ourselves that our current disparities – social, political, economic – have origins in that terror that was overlaid by the independence project. The fact is race, class and colourism continue to pervade our society,” he said, adding that our problems had to be faced and solved together.

Going on to note that there were different types of republics, that there was yet to be any information disseminated about our move and that it appears that it will not be put to a referendum, he highlighted the Republican Status Transition Advisory Committee and questioned whether or not it had any real teeth to make the necessary changes for a better society.

“The Committee does not strike me as a wide-ranging constitutional reform committee, but more to make a few amendments regarding symbolic points about patriating the constitution from an act of the UK Parliament to one of the Barbados Parliament and replacing one ceremonial head with another. The discussion about being a Republic is often framed in this way of ‘for’ or ‘against’, with no context or discussion of the wider political changes or constitutional changes that Barbados requires. The Advisory Committee unfortunately seems to reflect this.”

Stating that the real issue was the relationship between the people and the Government, he made the point that any new president of a republic really should be elected by the people.

“The Prime Minister likes to talk about every Barbadian boy or girl aspiring to the high office and knowing that it is not representative of the Queen. Let us make that aspiration real and not just talk. Let us have the new President or whatever it is called directly elected that those boys and girls can aspire to, and not a President formed in the back rooms of the Parliament functioning as an electoral college for choosing a president, likely one of the same political class,” Dr. Yearwood said.

Going on to ask if we should limit the size of Cabinet, if people outside of Parliament should be ministers and whether or not we have too many constituencies, Dr. Yearwood painted a picture of what Government’s functions should look like.

“I think that any new form of governance system should emphasise the role of government as a facilitator of wealth creation and enterprise development. Government becomes an agent for economic democracy and enfranchisement. A tax and spend policy as the basis for the economic and political reform of Barbados will prove insufficient to meet the demands for the provision of social services, education, healthcare and in particular, social care, which we have never considered properly in this country, given our ageing population,” he said, before adding that democracy would fail without the economic foundation for people to make and own property and a government which will protect that ability.

He then made a call on Government to remain honest with the people of Barbados.

“If the Government is trying to dress up what is a role swap from the Queen to another ceremonial head, or to sneak in critical discussions in the terms of reference, then it’s disingenuous to the people of Barbados and it’s also disrespectful to the Constitution and people of Barbados.”

Noting that the switch could be a real moment for change in constitutional and government systems, Dr. Yearwood urged members of the public to stand and have their voices heard.

“If you want to start a petition that there be a referendum and that the Government clearly sets out in some form of document what it intends the Republic of Barbados to look like and what changes they want, then we demand it, then we action it, then we agitate for it. We fight the battles we want and we should not and cannot expect others to do it for us. I think the Government should be sent back to the drawing board on the Republic Transition Committee and simply told to come again. If the Government wants to change the Constitution, then say so and do so and take us, the people of Barbados in your confidence about what these changes will be and what they will entail and the effect they will have on our lives,” he said. (MP)