The following is a statement by Opposition Leader Mark Golding to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness:

Dear Mr Holness,

I write in reply ot your letter of September 30.

I wish to state at the outset that it is my heartfelt desire that we complete our unfinished circle of independence by establishing Jamaica’s full sovereignty. This means leaving both the British Monarch as Head of State and the British Monarch’s Privy Council as the final court of appeal, and in a manner that our Constitution no longer originates from an Order in Council of the British Monarch.

At your recent Swearing-In Ceremony at King’s House, you said words to the effect – “Mark, let us partner together to complete the work we started in making Jamaica a republic”.

I welcome those words, as they are consistent with the reality that the Government does not now have a two-thirds majority in either House of Parliament, further re-enforcing the imperative of partnership between Jamaica’s two major political parties if progress is to be made in reforming the Constitution.

I accept that the only route to reaping success in this reform effort is through authentic collaboration, as demonstrated by former political leaders.

For example, in opening the debate on the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in 2010, then Prime Minister Bruce Golding outlined the imperative of partnering together in the reform process, since the Constitution requires it.

Similarly, on December 2, 2021, former Prime Minister PJ Patterson wrote to you and I, saying that “The solution to constitutional reform requires unity of purpose and action, transcending partisan borders”.

This approach also accords with Jamaica’s democratic tradition. History shows that in transitioning from colonial status to political independence, there was constant interaction between NW Manley and Sir Alexander Bustamante, as there was between PJ Patterson and Edward Seaga during the seminal constitutional reform undertakings of the 1990s.

Accordingly, it is you and I, as the leaders of Jamaica’s two major political parties, who must establish a basis for the required partnership if the reform process is not to become another exercise in futility.

Therefore, and in furtherance of your expressed aspiration of partnership quoted above, I was expecting an invitation to meet with you to discuss the way forward, as a first step.

However, in your letter, under reply, you have proposed that I meet with the Minister of Justice [Delroy Chuck]. With respect, prime minister, that approach will not initiate the required partnership of which we speak.

I therefore invite you to reconsider the matter in light of what I am suggesting in this letter, and look forward to hearing from you presently.

Given that your embrace of partnership was expressed in a public speech, I will be making this letter public as my response to that exhortation.