Reform Constitution now

THE EDITOR: We need constitutional reform in this country and we need it urgently. Our nation is blessed, we are blessed and our country is beautiful, but successive governments have been exercising way too much power over us and there must be change.

We need constitutional reform urgently so that we the people of this nation would experience the power to assist in making decisions so that we can really progress. Some of the authority that a prime minister has needs to be taken away and given to the people.

The speaker of the House, president of the republic and president of the Senate should be nominated by both the Opposition and the winning party or even selected by the nation through votes during a general election.

MPs or councillors can be fired for non-performance or corruption or the mishandling of funds after a period of proper and transparent deliberation. As a matter of fact, all MPs and councillors must provide a proper breakdown as to how funds were spent during their time in office.

A prime minister should not be able to influence the nomination of a police commissioner.

We need proper and transparent party financing laws and we also need new procurement and tendering laws that prevent politicians and their friends from always being chosen for state contracts.

By having new stringent laws concerning tendering and procurement, the number of recusals that politicians would need to take would decrease. Politics is an excellent breeding ground for nepotism, bobol and corruption.

The members of state boards should be chosen by both the opposition and the government to allow for more transparency and accountability. Better yet, the people on all state boards should be politically neutral if possible and their qualifications must be published on LinkedIn and made known to all.

Politicians must be prevented from putting their friends on more than two state boards. And no one person should be on more than two state boards.

Politicians must not be allowed to change election dates as they see fit or to benefit them.

Politicians must not use taxpayers’ money to hire or pay anyone to do their PR work. The social media team must be hired through the party’s own private financing.

Politicians or their friends or financiers must not have power over any media house to tamper with our freedom of information.

A prime minister or president must not have more than two terms in office and by age 70 they, along with all other politicians, should vacate office to make room for the younger ones; succession planning is a must. There are too many old folks in politics. They are trying to prove what?

The tax exemptions for importing vehicles for public servants (politicians) is way too high and should be reduced by more than half the current amount.

Vehicles used for officials should have engines for CNG.

We need change now. What is the wait?

J ALI

Port of Spain