Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, has told National Security Minister, Dr Horace Chang that he is treading on a “slippery slope” following comments made by Chang that the democratically-elected Government “cannot be vetoed in carrying out executive action in the face of crisis”.

Golding warned Chang that such talk threatened the very foundations of governance in the country.

The warning was triggered after Chang, during a wide-ranging address on crime in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, asserted that it is “inappropriate to block executive attempts in the interest of the people”.

The Government has relied heavily on states of emergency (SOEs) to combat the crime scourge which has seen on average 1,300 people murdered annually in Jamaica. However, the SOEs, which are widely popular with Jamaicans, especially those living in crime-plagued inner-city communities where the homicide rates are highest, were discontinued on the eve of the September 3, 2020 General Elections.

While the Government has a super majority in the House of Representatives and would need no support from the Opposition, it would need at least one Opposition senator to throw his or her support behind the Government for the SOEs to be brought back.

The Opposition has already stated that it will not be supporting any return to SOEs and any hope the Government has of doing so soon, faces legal hurdles following a Supreme Court ruling last year that determined that the prolonged detention of five men under the SOEs was unconstitutional.

Chang, who along with Police Commissioner, Major General Antony Anderson, continues to signal his preference for SOEs, argued that while the elected Government has a responsibility to respect the rights of the people, it must also ensure that other individuals also respect the rights of all citizens.

Golding, in his response to Chang, stated that the executive is obligated to operate within the framework of the country’s laws, the Constitution in particular. He told his fellow Members of Parliament (MPs) that all 63 House Members had sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of Jamaica.

“If we lose sight of that, we are on a slippery slope away from a Government ruled by laws, to a Government ruled by power, uncircumscribed by law, which is a dangerous country for us, and we don’t want to go there,” said Golding.

Newly-elected President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding is signalling that although few in numbers, the parliamentary Opposition has every intention of keeping the Andrew Holness-led Government with its super majority in the House of Representatives, on its toes.

Golding, who on Saturday polled 1,740 votes to defeat South East St Ann Member of Parliament Lisa Hanna, who received 1,350 votes in a special delegates conference to secure the presidency of the party, is promising strong representation on behalf of the Jamaican people.

“We have to be cohesive, we have to caucus, we have to be prepared,” Golding told Loop News on Saturday as he visited the Cedar Grove Academy in St Catherine where he interacted with delegates while voting was still underway.

“I think we’ve achieved some things already, even in the decision of the prime minister to change the protocol and convention so that the Opposition no longer chairs all of the sessional committees of the Parliament, we resisted that stoutly. We got support in the media and we got support from civil society and we are pleased about that,” said Golding.

“He (Holness) has been a little stubborn in retracting it but he will pay a price for that because people don’t like arrogance in power and he has acted arrogantly with that one,” added Golding who will be the next Opposition leader.

During the first sitting of the parliament to mark the new term on September 29, the Jamaica Labour Party government, with its 35-seat majority, having won 49 seats to the 14 secured by the PNP, announced that it was breaking with a 13-year-old tradition and would retake chairmanship of four of the sessional committees. The practice was instituted in 2007 by then Prime Minister, Bruce Golding who had insisted that all key sessional committees be chaired by Opposition members to ensure transparency.

When Portia Simpson Miller led the PNP to victory in December 2011, the practice continued with the sessional committees being chaired by Opposition members. The Holness Administration of 2016 to 2020 also continued the practice before deciding to reverse it with his most recent victory at the polls.

The decision means the Economy and Production; Internal and External Affairs; Human Resource and Social Development; and Infrastructure and Physical Development committees will be chaired by government members. The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, corruption watchdog National Integrity Action and the Jamaica Council of Churches have all urged the government to reconsider its decision but it has not relented.

Meanwhile, Golding said the Opposition will continue to ensure that it is prepared for legislation. He noted that submissions made by Opposition members on the Dogs (Liability for Attacks) Act 2020 has necessitated changes to the document.

“That is the trend that we hope to follow, we want to constantly be vigorous and rigorous and well prepared so that we can defend the rights of the Jamaican people in Parliament which is the role of the Opposition,” Golding stated.