BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Former Governor of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla and lauded historian, Sir Probyn Inniss has suggested that two terms in office is sufficient for politicians, because it is in the interest of the country and politicians themselves.
He however cautioned that “one should not regard it as some type of punishment or some kind of penalty”.
Sir Probyn gave his recommendation during a recent interview with SKNVibes.
“I think it is a view which ought to commend itself to active politicians and even those who are trying to get into politics. Because, you see, there is a tendency if you hold on too long you then begin to feel a sense of ownership; you then begin to feel that you ought not to be criticised. A certain type of arrogance of power, we call it, creeps into it.
“And it has been well-documented even in the Caribbean that if you have a government in power, if you have a prime minister who has served two terms, that for the third term, fourth term that nice person becomes almost unbearable in terms of the arrogance. He or she, they’ve known it all, they’ve seen it all; nobody else is allowed to make any suggestions because, of course, this wise man who has seen it all just won’t tolerate any criticism, any suggestions and what have you.”
Asked what he believes is a reasonable time for a prime minister to remain in office, Sir Probyn suggested not more than 10 years.
“I’m personally of the view that two terms, totalling approximately 10 years. If by default it goes beyond those 10 years for a third term, then I’m sure you’ve seen diminishing returns in almost every instant where a particular government remains in power however brilliant the leader might have been initially.”
Using the late Eric Williams, who served as Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister from 1962 to 1981, Sir Probyn said Williams was “brilliant…a visionary, but it got to a point where it had entered diminishing returns because he was not tolerant of people he considered to be less alight”.
He added: “And so I think the case has been very well made. It’s in the interest of the country and, quite often, even in the interest of the politician himself to take a break. Walk away, term limit…call it what you will.”
Sir Probyn is encouraging politicians to see a term limit to their advantage in becoming refreshed in the field should he or she returns.
“Come back with new vigor, come back with new ideas, come back now with all that new experience you have gained. It doesn’t mean that you are going into oblivion, you are giving yourself an opportunity now to do some research, to do some reading, to see life, to do some travelling so that when you come back in you’re going to find that you’re more tolerant, you have more ideas, you have skills in terms of how to deal with people and situations. And I think that is a lot to commend a term limit.”
Speaking more about term limit, Sir Probyn opined that “it could be done quite strategically for the benefit of the individual. Because, after all, these offices are very onerous! If you are to do justice, you recognise that you’ve got to be on the job virtually 24 hours a day. And after a while you should, for that is happy to say I’ll leave this for a while, I’ll be back, I’ll be able to have a new lease of life and so on”.
He explained that a lot would depend on the prevailing circumstances in each country.
“In some countries you are going to find that the manpower or womanpower is so limited that you cannot be absolutely rigid in terms of saying two terms and you’re out.
“You couldn’t pass a law in some situations. But I think that there should be an awareness that beyond a certain point diminishing returns set in and also you are considering succession.”
In the case where few people in a country are interested in politics and public service, Sir Probyn said that “part of the problem” is because there are no term limits in the first place.
“It is because you do not have term limits why there are so few people who are willing to even attempt to get into politics and public life. That is part of the conundrum we are faced with.”
Sir Probyn expressed that with term limits, more people would be encouraged to become involved in politics.
“I think with a gate so opened wide, certainly more young women like yourself might feel tempted to say, ‘I have a chance because there’ll be vacancies. I have a chance because the whole climate is one in which people are being welcomed because we want to see a smooth transition from one generation to the next. Yes, I’m encouraged to go in because there are people who will welcome me and there are people who will nurture me and mentor me in order to help me to bring out the talent, because they don’t see me as a rival.’”
