Wean me off De Queen!
By Anselm Caines
Several years ago, prior to independence, our people were taught to sing with heart and voice, “God Save the Queen”, and our children were encouraged to daintily wave at the sight of “Her Majesty” – that is, of course, whenever she visited these quarters.
While I can attempt to force myself to accept that this was the practice of the past, it totally befuddles my mind, why nearly 27 years after attaining political independence and our right to self-determination, we still maintain the Queen of England as the Head of State; not to mention a number of other Eurocentric relics.
The Speaker of the National Assembly continues to wear that powdered wig, the image of the Queen is still affixed to our EC currency, instead of the Founding Fathers of the OECS and for some strange reason, our Prime Minister and his colleague parliamentarians unremittingly trot to Government House and Parliament to ‘swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors.’ Such poppycock!
These practices and utterances I find to be rather politically infantile and an anathema to our status as an independent democratic nation. What ever happened to, “I pledge allegiance to my country; St. Kitts and Nevis, my flag and my constitution; to uphold and defend their honour and by my living to do credit to my nation, wherever I go?”
Mark you, I have always opined that the Queen is seemingly a very gracious lady, but in this the 2010th year of our Lord it is time that we rid ourselves of this outlandish custom of swearing and pledging allegiance to a foreign monarch! Such a habit should indeed remain as distant as the Queen herself is from the soil of our country!
As we endeavour to reform and refine our democracy, we must also review the current political status of the Governor-General. As is the case in England with the Queen, the Governor-General’s role here in St. Kitts and Nevis is predominantly symbolic and cultural, and the powers that are theoretically his are exercised wholly upon the advice of the elected government.
Additionally, as it relates to the actual appointment of the Governor-General by the Queen, this process is also done on the ‘advice of the Prime Minister’. Basically, the Governor-General is who the Prime Minister says the Governor-General is, and, generally, the individual of choice is someone who will not challenge the Prime Minister and is in some way, shape or form, affiliated with his political party. The result is usually a political appointment. This myopic practice does nothing to reduce the Prime Ministerial mode of Government that has long stifled the democratic process in the Caribbean and should therefore be discarded.
Instead of having a purely ceremonial Head of State, with rubber stamp authority, there should be an indigenous President with greater power to fully act within his own discretion in certain specific areas. After all, if we are going to spend state funds on the upkeep of the Head of State’s lavishing lifestyle, then I think it would be more prudent to have him play a more prominent and practical role in the operation of our government, as opposed to serving as a mere political celebrity!
To further safeguard the independence of the President and infuse greater national consensus in his selection, the means of appointment should also be altered. An Electoral College/Council representative of various political and civic organizations such as the political parties, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Christian Council and prominent youth groups, should be established. Emanating from their collective deliberation, should be a list of nominees for President. The nominees should then be sent forward for a three quarters (3/4) Parliamentary approval or direct election by the people, upon which the President may serve a maximum of two five-year terms.
Additionally, the means of dismissal of the Head of State must no longer be left to the whim and fancy of the Prime Minister but should occur by way of impeachment proceedings initiated by a special majority (3/4) vote of Parliament. Such a procedure would insulate his appointment and dismissal from partisan considerations and thus prevent him from being a political instrument of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
More importantly, it will allow the President increased freedom to truly act in his own deliberate judgement in fulfilling important constitutional responsibilities, such as making appointments to the Electoral or Public Service Commissions, rather than having to look over his shoulder for the partisan approval of any Prime Minister.
As I put forward this particular position, I am mindful that there are those who believe that if St. Kitts and Nevis decides to become a Republic and we cease to recognize the Queen as our Head of State, then our place in the Commonwealth of Nations will suddenly be jeopardized. This is not the case at all.
In fact, of the 54 states that are presently members of the Commonwealth, 33 are republics; while only 16 have the Queen as their Head of State. Yet, the 33 republics continue to enjoy the full fruits of membership in the Commonwealth. To go further, Trinidad and Tobago, a country that attained Republican status 34 years ago, was the host country for the most recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2009. On this change of political status alone, I therefore see no plausible reason why St. Kitts and Nevis will be hindered from maintaining its presence in this international forum.
I am hopeful, that if this important issue is acted upon, it will not be made hostage to the typical partisan political posturing that has become so characteristic of our country. Rather, I would wish to bear witness to a wholesome and nourishing debate on this matter that holds much historical and political significance for our twin-island nation and indeed, the wider Caribbean region.
Going forward, therefore, as we continue to recast the political image and identity of this fair land of ours, I implore the Prime Minister, in his fourth term, to make good on his campaign promise of constitutional reform from his first term and go one step further towards making St. Kitts and Nevis a fully fledged Republic! Let us finally sound the patriotic trumpet to extract this colonial fairytale from out national narrative and wean ourselves off the Queen!
.jpg)