THE CURRENT CELEBRATIONS by our Parliament provide a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what our people really know about Barbados’ system of governance.
It has been said before but perhaps it is staring us in the face at this time: here we are celebrating the founding of the third oldest Parliament in the Western Hemisphere and the vast majority of our people are still lacking in knowledge of the important aspects of our governance.
We hear mention of the office of Prime Minister and of ministers as they go about their daily business, but what about the Auditor General? Why do we need one? And, as another instance, what is the work of the Public Accounts Committee?
Some major offices are mentioned in the Constitution, among them the office of Director of Public Prosecutions and the said Auditor General. Why is this so? Are their positions specially protected? And why can a minister be dismissed without so much as a warning if a Prime Minister believes that he has just cause to take such action?
And what are the Estimates, and why do they have to be debated and passed before the end of March of every year?
We are not asking for everyone to become a constitutional specialist, but there is a yawning gap in our national education if we can celebrate the 375th founding of our Parliament and yet be woefully lacking in knowledge of the very basics of our system of governance.
Governance is about a set of controls which are placed on those who govern to make sure that there is a road map within which they exercise the awesome powers we place in their hands.
But it is important that we understand that we, the people, are participants in our governance even as we entrust power to our leaders; and it makes little sense if we repose that power without knowing the rules of that transfer or the power which resides in us to comment or criticize and praise where necessary.
Cricket is our national sport, and there are many important discussion programmes on radio and television in which the game is discussed, analysed and dissected by players and spectators alike. This happens because spectators are as informed about the rules of the game as are the players, and are therefore able to make quality comments about the state of play and the state of the game in a broader sense.
As we begin a year of celebrations of the founding of our Parliament, we need to spare a moment to reflect on why it is that the same spectators who are so knowledgeable about their cricket are not equally familiar with the playing field of politics.
In an ideal democracy there would be a constant refreshing of the waters of political education, so that the people can be effectively nourished in what it takes to intelligently participate in their governance system. We need to aim for that ideal.
