TIME COME advocates for meaningful, informed and people-led political and constitutional reforms that promote social democracy, justice and sustainable development with a focus on Belize and the wider Caribbean. While there were failed constitutional reform processes in Grenada (2016) and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2009), Cuba held a successful process in 2018-2019 and Barbados became a parliamentary republic in 2021. In 2023, reform commissions are leading constitutional reviews in Belize, Barbados and Jamaica, and other states are having serious debates about becoming republics.
REAL STORY POSTS is a page for my pieces on past political and constitutional developments. In the TIME COME POSTS page, I post my views and proposals on specific reform issues. PAST WORK is where I share relevant articles and presentations I have made over the years before this site.
TIME COME is totally independent, non-partisan and self-sponsored. The views and opinions given in all posts in these categories are mine only or of those who write GUEST POSTS. While I commit to providing well-researched and factual pieces with informed analysis, my perspectives unapologetically reflect the social democratic values I promote
I must share how I came up with the name for this blog: Time Come — Put People Back in democracy. In 2012, Portia Simpson-Miller, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica, used the occasion of her oath swearing ceremony to state: “I love the Queen, she is a beautiful lady. But I think time come!” Her call for the end of monarchial parliamentary government still eludes Jamaica 11 years later, but it seems to be on the horizon in 2024 or 2025. But the term ‘time come’ has stuck with me since.
The term ‘Put People Back in Democracy” is all from the Society for the Promotion of Education and Research (SPEAR) — revitalised by Assad Shoman with Diane Haylock in 1987 and where I spent the most purposeful, formative, exciting and trying ten years of my career between 1988 and 1998 (and beyond). I will tell SPEAR’s amazing story in one of my posts. SPEAR launched Belize’s first non-governmental campaign for political and constitutional reform in 1994 and forged a truly national movement of civil society for reform in the lead up to the 1998 elections. Indeed, the 1999 Political Reform Commission was a direct result of SPEAR’s persistent advocacy. Power heeded the people’s demand.
One of SPEAR’s big initiatives was to lead the organisation of annual summits of civil society. The inaugural summit in 1996 featured hundreds of participants representing 97 organisations and communities. Its theme was “Putting People Back in Democracy”. So I owe the name of this website to to all of the staff and members of SPEAR over the years — and especially in the 1990’s. ‘Time Come – Put People Back in Democracy’ was not only a vision and struggle for 1996. So it is today and so it will be tomorrow.
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