Morgan: No MP should also serve as head of state
Former Savanna-la-Mar mayor believes citizens should make that decision
Published:Saturday | June 17, 2023 | 12:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Delford Morgan does not believe that any change should be made to Jamaica’s law that allows a member of parliament (MP) to also serve as the country’s head of state.
Morgan, a panellist at a town hall meeting which was held at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, late Wednesday evening, criticised what seems to be a major recommendation from the Marlene Malahoo Forte-led Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) for Jamaica to replace the governor general with a ceremonial president as part of Jamaica’s move from having the British monarchy as head of state, to a republic.
Even though this suggestion is not set in stone, the senior attorney says that it is not a sign of change. Instead, he said it seems to be a continuation of the old colonial system that has been used for years since the country gained political independence from the United Kingdom.
“I’m not interested in voting for any kind of republican status, and I won’t back any move that doesn’t give the people the power to choose their president, not a prime minister,” Morgan said to roaring applause from the crowd, which included business, community leaders and high school students.
The former mayor of Savanna-la-Mar insisted: “I’ll go even further. When we elect our president, he or she will have the power to choose an executive or cabinet that has to answer to the parliament that represents the people of Jamaica.”
Under the current Westminster model, if a political party leader wins a seat in Parliament, they become prime minister if their party has a majority of the 63-member House of Representatives. Usually, the opposition leader is also put in the lead position based on the support of the members of his/her party.
But Morgan, who said that he rose from poverty to serve as mayor of Savanna-la Mar – from 2003-2007 – said that in a republican state, people who are chosen to the House of Representatives shouldn’t also be in charge of the government.
The former mayor said: “If you’re a member of parliament, you can’t be in the cabinet.”
He said that it’s not possible to serve two masters well at the same time.
Reverend Hartley Perrin, the custos of Westmoreland, who represents the monarch and was in charge of Wednesday’s town hall meeting, said that the people of the parish now have the chance to change the course of history again, since they were part of the island’s thrust towards independence during the 1938 civil upheaval. This, he said, was important for things like the development of Jamaica’s minimum wage agreement and the start of trade union activities.
The town hall meeting looked at the pros and cons of Jamaica becoming a republic and getting full freedom from its British enslavers. Other prominent panellists included Professor Trevor Munroe and attorneys Leonard Green and Dionne Meylor-Barrett.
Students and other people in the parish have suggested that the CRC needs to formulate a document and educate the people about the benefits of becoming a republic. Concerns were also expressed about whether or not the general public wanted to break ties with the British monarchy.