In Trinidad and Tobago, committee holds meetings for public input on constitutional reform

SEVERAL people urged that the holding of popular referenda on various issues be mandated by a new Trinidad and Tobago Constitution, speaking at an April 5 community meeting hosted by the National Advisory Committee on Constitutional Reform, which is chaired by former speaker Barendra Sinanan. [ . . . ] Committee member Dr Terrence Farrell said since the adoption of the 1976 Republican Constitution, this was the fifth time a process of constitutional reform had been attempted. He viewed the 1972-74 Wooding Commission as having made some "excellent recommendations" but the late prime minister Dr Eric Williams had chosen not to act on these. He said other attempts were made by a commission under Sir Isaac Hyatali, by Sir Ellis Clarke for former prime minister Patrick Manning, and by a committee headed by former legal affairs minister Prakash Ramadhar. Farrell said a cynical view was the current exercise "was going nowhere," but in his view, the efforts over the past 50 years showed the society saw a need for constitutional reform. He argued that the problems people face daily could be traced back to the institutions of the Constitution. Farrell said so far the committee had so far received 180 submissions from members of the public, well ahead of the 100 sent to the Wooding Commission.
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