EVOLUTION of a NATION TRINIDAD and TOBAGO at FIFTY Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p651 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM Published by Hansib Publications in 2012 P.O. Box 226, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 3WY United Kingdom Email: [email protected] Website: www.hansib-books.com A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-906190-58-3 Copyright © The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed and bound in the UK Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p652 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................... 5 About the authors ........................................................................... 9 Tobago and constitutional development in the context of the Parliamentary process ..................................... 13 Reginald Dumas From Legislative Council to House of Representatives: Promoting or hindering democracy? ........................................... 25 Dr Kirk Meighoo The effectiveness of Parliament as an organ of State in scrutinising executive action ............................ 37 Professor Rhoda Reddock From unicameralism to bicameralism: Trinbago’s constitutional advances (1831–1962) ........................ 65 Professor Brinsley Samaroo The relevance of the Senate in a modern democracy .................. 79 Dr Hamid A. Ghany The role of political parties in the development of democracy in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago .................... 101 Professor Selwyn Ryan A Parliament for the people: Constitution reform and the role of Parliament ................................................ 111 Dr Olabisi Kuboni The role of the Head of State in a bicameral system of governance .................................................................... 123 H.E. Professor George Maxwell Richards 3 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p653 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM 4 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p654 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM INTRODUCTION OUR NATION’S ATTAINMENT OF INDEPENDENCE IN 1962 marked the end of colonial rule that had started during the 16th century under the aegis of Spain and had continued when the British captured Trinidad. In the meantime, Tobago had its own uneven political history, changing hands from one European power to another whilst having its own bicameral elective legislature from as early as 1768. As Crown Colony governance became tighter from the mid-19th century that melancholy isle was deprived of its bicameral legislature in 1874 and in 1877 was made a purely nominative, one-chambered Crown Colony legislature. In 1889, Tobago was united administratively with Trinidad in order to reduce British expenses in the Caribbean and in 1899 the noose was further tightened when that colony was made a ward of Trinidad and Tobago. From the beginning of the 20th century, Tobago joined Trinidad in advocating freedom from colonial rule, becoming an integral part of the achievement on Independence in 1962. During this long period of the islands’ subjugation under European domination, there were fundamental philosophical premises upon which such governance was based. Among these beliefs were: a) That non-white people were incapable of governing themselves and therefore needed the constant guidance of Europeans. b) That systems of governance brought to this region by Africans and Asians (who formed the majority of the population) had to be quickly discarded and replaced by Western, Christian derived norms. What was British was best and those who could not conform were effectively shut out of the process. c) That in order to ensure European dominance every effort was made to implement the policy of Divide Et Impera (Divide and Rule). This caused each ethnic or religious group to see each other as the enemy and not the manipulative colonial overlords. 5 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p655 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM EVOLUTION OF A NATION: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AT FIFTY Independence in 1962 was an improvement of that colonial regime but many of the vestiges of the past burdens persisted in the reliance on the Westminster model, the salience of race and religion as agencies of mobilisation and the continuing search for political solutions which lay outside of our own experience, resulting in the addition of structures from the American model. Since 1962, our people have sensed these inadequacies in their governance but we did not possess the intellectual competence to analyse the issues properly and to make recommendations for effective change. During the last three decades, however, that inadequacy has been increasingly addressed and we have now reached the point at which detailed information and analysis can be provided by our own national leaders of thought. With that in mind, the Presiding Officers of the 10th Republican Parliament undertook the responsibility of bringing together some of our leading thinkers to deliberate on these issues of governance. Between September and December 2011, eight lecture discussions were conducted at eight venues: Tobago, Arima, St Augustine, Chaguanas, San Fernando, Port of Spain and Point Fortin. His Excellency, Professor George Maxwell Richards concluded with the final presentation at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain. The following were the lecturers and the topics: SCHEDULE OF LECTURES FOR THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BICAMERAL SYSTEM IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1. ‘Tobago and constitutional development in the context of the parliamentary process’, by Reginald Dumas 2. ‘From Legislative Council to House of Representatives: Promoting or hindering democracy’, by Dr Kirk Meighoo 3. ‘The effectiveness of Parliament as an organ of State in scrutinising executive action’, by Professor Rhoda Reddock 4. ‘From unicameralism to bicameralism: Trinbago’s constitutional advances (1831-1962)’, by Professor Brinsley Samaroo 5. ‘The Relevance of the Senate in a modern democracy’, by Dr Hamid A. Ghany 6. ‘The role of political parties in the development of democracy in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’, by Professor Selwyn Ryan 7. ‘A Parliament for the people: Constitution reform and the role of Parliament’, by Dr Olabisi Kuboni 8. ‘The role of the Head of State in the bicameral system of governance’, by H.E. Professor George Maxwell Richards TC, CMT, PhD 6 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p656 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM INTRODUCTION This volume is a collection of the lectures delivered by the panel. We are indeed indebted to the lecturers for their participation in this series and our very special gratitude is extended to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for His Excellency’s generous support. Each presenter brought to the table years of research, political activism and mature reflection. There is no uniformity of views among the lectures and no effort has been made to harmonise the ideas put forward for change. The volume will hopefully, form the basis of our on-going discourse on constitutional reform. In this way, more and more of our population can be involved towards the devising of a constitution in which inclusivity of all our peoples will be a cardinal principle. This volume will not be the end of this Parliament’s efforts at providing essential information and analysis for this and future generations. The next volume will focus on parliamentary milestones such as the laws passed since 1962, the significant role played by women in the parliamentary process, highlights of the struggle for local government reform and the effectiveness of our bicameral system as a genuine forum for the expression of the people’s will. As we plot our course for the next fifty years, these issues will become increasingly important. Senator The Hon. Timothy Hamel-Smith Hon. Wade Mark, MP President of the Senate Speaker of the House 7 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p657 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM EVOLUTION OF A NATION: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AT FIFTY 8 Evolution of a Nation - Text Pages v1.p658 7/12/2012, 9:56 AM ABOUT THE AUTHORS in order of presentations Reginald Dumas spent nearly all of his professional career in the Public Service of Trinidad and Tobago, where he reached the positions first of Ambassador and subsequently of Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister and Head of the Public Service. In 1995, his authoritative, In the service of the public was published, and his efforts in Haiti as Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General are recorded in his 1998 book, An encounter with Haiti: notes of a Special Adviser. Mr Dumas, who holds degrees from Cambridge University and an Honorary Doctorate from The University of the West Indies, is a regular commentator on national, regional and international affairs. Dr Kirk Meighoo has been a university lecturer, political analyst, active politician, researcher and writer on West Indian government for well over a decade. In 2003, his Politics in a Half-made Society: Trinidad and Tobago 1925-2001 was published. In 2008, he co-authored Democracy and Constitutional Reform in Trinidad and Tobago with Justice Peter Jamadar. He has served on various State committees and has acted as Temporary Independent Senator. Professor Rhoda Reddock is Professor of Gender, Social Change and Development and Deputy Campus Principal