Opposite page: Sunset in Montserrat; This page: The island’s active volcano.
authority in Her Majesty the Queen. It provided for a Governor appointed by the Queen, an Executive Council which approximated to a cabinet and a Legislative Council elected every five years. The Executive Council, over which the Governor presided, consisted of a Chief Minister (CM), three other Ministers with the Attorney General (AG) and Financial Secretary (FS) as ex officio members. The appointed Governor held
the most powerful position in the administration. He had special responsibilities for, and discretionary authority over:
a) Defence; b) External affairs; c) International financial services; d) Internal security including the police force; and e) Appointment, discipline and
dismissal in the public service (in brief).
In other words – in theory at
least – although he or she was not elected, the Governor functioned as a super-Minister with portfolios for foreign affairs, justice, defence, home affairs (to an extent) and the public service. It must be noted that foreign affairs can have serious implications for economic development. The exercise of this power depends to a degree on the attitude of particular Governors and they do vary in their attitude to power. If constitutional modernization means anything, it denotes greater self-government and democratization. Colonialism with its idea of
client state and subordinate people is inherently undemocratic. So to attain any respectable modicum of modernization there has to be a
marked reduction of the democratic deficit represented in particular by the power of the governor vis-à-vis the power of the people’s elected representatives. This is an acid test for modernization. This is not an isolated view. Dr
Phillis Flemming Banks, who spoke for civil society in Anguilla, criticized the qualities of partnership which allowed the Governor to impose legislation against the popular will. CM Hon. Ralph O’Neale of the
British Virgin Islands hoped that constitutional review would lead to a reduction in the Governor’s power and CM Hon. Michael Misick of the Turks and Caicos Islands expressed the identical view. The overseas territories generally did not initiate constitutional modernization; but they knew what constituted it.
The process The consultation was widespread even though some felt it should have been more thorough on the island. In addition to town hall meetings and radio interactions, discussions were held with the Montserratian diaspora especially in England and neighbouring islands. Although the U.K. government
called for widespread consultation, it provided a constraining checklist to provide parameters and guide the process. In its own words, it indicated “standards to which overseas territories should seek to strive, obligations which they should strive to meet and expectations of Her Majesty’s Government in key areas of constitutional modernization”. In fact, the possibility of enhancing the Governor’s power was implicit in the document. And Mr David