A few months ago, I briefly followed news from the US on its election of the first Hispanic Justice on the US Supreme, and I ask myself – does Solomon Island’s have hope for the future? In the light of public criticism over perks for our parliamentarians and continual absence in parliamentary debate, can we seriously hope that our legislators will change our future for better?
I suppose we can lull ourselves to oblivion by ignoring the need or we can spark a “change revolution” towards how each citizen can effect change for the better in the Solomon Islands. But what should this discussion have in common with the election of Sonya Sotomayor’s election? If I have been vague, let me indulge you in my thoughts to clarify my position. The better future for which we may all be aspiring for lies in our ability to initiate “correct, far-reaching procedures that ensure we derive quality over quantity”.
The process and procedures by which Sonya Sotomayor or most senior public officers within the US government are elected may be fraught with its fault but it is tedious, unpleasant and not for the feint of heart. Series of committees scrutinize every aspect of your life. Then the US Senate sits down and grills each candidate before voting them into office. The US Senate did provide Sotomayor her day in court by a show of an overwhelming majority that President Obama’s choice to nominate Sonia Sotomayor was correct by 68-31.
The absence of quality control within the country’s highest public office is clearly absent or left in the hands of those who do not appreciate the enormity nor the importance of that responsibility. An officer who should assume great responsibility; an officer who must bear the noble cause of serving our nation should display the uttermost respect both to themselves and the country.
Peter Kenilorea Jnr’s comments on the draft Federal Constitution was comprehensive but I agree on one fundamental point, that we have not fully explored the true capabilities of our current system to reach any sensible conclusion for its disposal.
Herein lies the suggestion for a second tier of governance. In discussions I have had with my brother, we agreed on the idea for a think tank likened to the US Senate where only the “cream of the crop” can be elected. Where stringent qualifications for Senate candidates are implemented and guarantees can be made on the suitability of candidates for governance. The roles and responsibility of this tier of government will be governed by the constitution so while you can elect your member of parliament as a popularity contest, the passage of all bills that will govern the direction of our country will and must be scrutinized and passed by the Senate. This is quality control.
The position of the Attorney General, the nomination of any Governor General and other current constitutional posts must be scrutinized and endorsed by the Senate instead of it being a contest between affiliates of a political party or cronies of parliamentarians. These candidates must go through the “hellish” experience of Sotomayor in her bid to become a US Federal Judge where her finances, political affiliations, beliefs and personal life were heavily scrutinized to declare her fit for a duty of such high calling. This is quality control.
When important decisions are left to a group of 50, most of whom are merely “yes men” as a contributor to Solomon Star has said, we are allowing the fate of the country to be a gamble. A rolling dice tossed in the casino with the chances of destruction being the highest.
If this country must seek to “revolutionize” its future then it must be prepared to sacrifice ‘quantity for quality’. Only then can we hope for a better future.