Barbadian Political Scientist hails PM’s “selfless political act”
The Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2014 is one of the most anticipated Bills to be debated by those who support it and those who oppose the proposals. But there is support coming from regional bodies.
On Monday, the Director of the Caribbean Development Research Services, Mr. Peter Wickham, congratulated Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on creating an initiative to work with citizens.
“It is introducing real fundamental change that has the impact of bringing power to the people and certainly taking power away from the Prime Minister. I think that’s the aspect of the change I find most fascinating.”
Mr. Wickham, who is also a Barbadian Political Scientist, said compared to the laws of other Caribbean countries, this Bill would allow the Government a more interactive and engaging process with citizens.
He also commended this “selfless political act” by the Prime Minister to empower citizens.
“What you have done in Trinidad and Tobago is you have a sitting Prime Minister who has agreed to surrender power. The two most significant powers the Prime Minister has is the power to call election whenever she wants and also the power to run as frequently she wants and of course, use the power of incumbency to ensure that she comes back. It always helps when you have the job to be able to get it back. She has basically surrendered both of them and I think that is something Trinidadians should not easily dismiss. The extent to which this is a very selfless political act on the part of the sitting Prime Minister that will ultimately make her weaker going forward.”
Mr. Wickham was speaking during a phone interview on CTV’s First Up Morning Programme.