THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN HIS article in The Gleaner of Monday, September 23, 2002, your Staff Reporter Vernon Daley pointed out in very clear terms that "the Senate experiment has worked."
I certainly agree with him and join with him to applaud the Prime Minister for having surrendered two of his Government Senator appointments and appointed two independent Senators in the persons of Professor Trevor Munroe and Mr. Douglas Orane in 1997. That I think was a bold step forward by the Prime Minister indicating his Government's desire to get the involvement of civil society in governance, especially having regard to the fact that the framers of the Constitution made no such provision.
Indeed the Constitution made the simple straight forward admission that since the government is formed from a democratically elected majority in the Lower House, it follows that the government is entitled to have a majority in the Upper House, hence the 13 to 8 distribution of Senators between the Government and the Opposition.
The number of Senators ought to be increased, but I am not concerned about whether the number increases from 21 to 35. My concern resides in the manner of distribution. We should have Independent Senators and my submission is that in any distribution, the Government must have a clear majority in the Upper House consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
My own recommendation would be 19, 11, 5 respectively if the number increases to 35, thus retaining the constitutional provision for both government majority and percentage position between Government and Opposition in the Upper House; certainly not 15, 10, 10 as is being recommended by the Constitution Commission.
I am, etc.,
WINSTON H. SMITH
Iris Close
Kingston 6
