Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
As the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on constitution reform gets set to host its first in a series of town hall meetings on Tuesday, chairman Barendra Sinanan promises to deliver its report to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley by the second week in June.
Rowley approved the appointment of the seven-member NAC in January to formulate terms of reference for a National Consultation on Constitutional Reform. It comprises Sinanan, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Terrence Farrell, Raye Sandy, Jacqueline Sampson-Miguel, Winston Rudder, Nizam Mohammed, and Hema Narinesingh.
The NAC’s initial mandate was to consider and make recommendations to the Cabinet within three months of its appointment for the promotion and convene the consultations in June 2024. Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, Sinanan said the NAC began gathering and examining documents from past constitutional reform commissions and committees to ensure they were not reinventing the wheel.
Now completed, he said, the NAC will host its first town hall meeting at the Civic Centre in Sangre Grande at 6 pm on Tuesday. He said the sessions run through April and the first two weeks in May, reaching all constituencies to listen to what people think about the Constitution.
By last Tuesday, the NAC had received over 100 written submissions and expected more. “Many people talk about how the Constitution needs changing, and when you ask them what change they want, they do not have a clue. Part of the exercise is educating them,” Sinanan said.
Noting that many people were uninterested in the law and certain governance aspects, Sinanan said the NAC targets young people through social media, asking them to contribute to the discussion. It hopes to get a group from the University of the West Indies to attend and express their views.
“Listen, you could lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. We are doing all we can to alert the public and energise the population about the need for constitutional reform.”
Sinanan said there was still a lot of talk about constitutional reform from some people, like it is the plaster for everything. However, he warned that it might not be. While there are many good laws, he said some things need changing, especially regarding accountability.
“It is a main issue. Actually, it is also a main governance issue: accountability across the board, from the top, from the executive to the legislature to the judiciary, and then, most importantly, the public service. The Police Service, any service you think is lacking in accountability, can be changed through the Constitution, so this is why we want people to come and express their views.”
While the Constitution is a set of rules that govern a state, Sinanan describes it as the supreme law. But in stressing the need for change, he reminded that the House of Representatives passed the current Constitution in 1976.
In 2024, he said, society and law are ever-evolving and must change simultaneously. Sinanan tells young people that constitutional reform will determine their future in T&T, especially their education.