Constitution Reform Committee: We did not advise changing Coat of Arms

The National Advisory Committee on Constitutional Reform says it did not push Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to change the Coat of Arms.

Although the PM’s intention to replace Christopher Columbus’ ships with the steelpan on the Coat of Arms came just four days after the committee’s report on constitutional reform was published, Dr Terrence Farrell, a committee member, yesterday said this was not what was specifically recommended.

During a telephone interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Dr Farrell clarified that the committee recommended there be a chapter in the Constitution that recognises all of the national symbols. This includes the national flag, national anthem, Coat of Arms, instrument, flower, pledge, birds and watchwords.

Dr Farrell said, “Our recommendations were that these symbols should be included in the Constitution, which it now is not. But we did not make any recommendations for changing any of them. We did have representation that the Constitution should include something about the steelpan, which we have done.”

Following the news of a possible adjustment to the Coat of Arms, there have been mixed reactions from many people, including Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, political analysts and historians.

However, Dr Farrell said people are free to share their concerns, since none of the recommendations put forward by the committee are set in stone. He said this also goes for the recommendations rejected by the PNM’s Constitution Review Committee, including fixed dates for elections, proportional representation, and reformation of sexual orientation rights.

“You’re not going to have 100 per cent agreement on everything, so I think that in many instances, you’re just going to have to kind of go with what the majority of the population is saying. As an economist, my view is that you kind of do a Pareto optimality thing and you say, if you do this, is it going to make more people happy? And, the rest of the people, is it going to affect them?”

He said the committee’s recommendation for reformation of sexual orientation rights has to do with clarifying a person’s sexual orientation versus their sex, and that no one is discriminated against for this.

Some political analysts also complained that the report was not easily accessible to the public. In response, Dr Farrell said the committee has been working on material for the public, including informative videos that will clarify the recommendations and concerns of the public highlighted in the report.

Meanwhile, the Government is calling on the public to weigh in on the future of statues, monuments and signage across T&T.

A public consultation organised by the Cabinet-appointed Committee on Statues, Monuments and Signage is scheduled for August 28 from 5 pm-7 pm at the Government Plaza Auditorium Conference Centre, Port-of-Spain.

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