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MANUAL OF CABINET AND MINISTRY PROCEDURE
PART I
CABINET
1. Collective Responsibility
1. Article 72 of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Cabinet which shall have the general direction and control of the government of The Bahamas and shall be collectively responsible therefore to Parliament.
This doctrine of collective responsibility is the basis on which the system of ministerial government rests. Without it the ministerial system cannot be effective and cannot survive as a method of Government developed to work in accordance with the wishes of the people.
2. All major decisions of policy must be made by Cabinet.
3. A fundamental principle of "Cabinet Government" is unity. It is important to present a united front to the public; if any Minister feels conscientiously unable to support a decision taken by Cabinet, he has one course open to him and that is to resign his office
4. This principle is not affected by the assignment of responsibility to individual Ministers.
Decisions made by a Minister about any matter in his portfolio, when it is not within policy already decided by Cabinet, must always be such as could, without doubt, be defended and supported by Cabinet.
5. All major matters of policy, and matters on which there may be doubt regarding the attitude of other members of Cabinet, and all subjects on which there is unresolved difference of opinion between Ministries, should be put before Cabinet. Moreover, should any Minister not agree with an action taken by a fellow Minister without prior consultation with Cabinet, Cabinet will decide whether or not the action should be upheld.
6. So long as a Minister remains a Minister he may not speak in public or in private against a decision of Cabinet or against an individual decision of another Minister. As he is a member of the Government Bench in the House of Assembly or in the Senate, he must not speak or vote on any measure debated in either House otherwise. than on the lines agreed by Cabinet.
7. No Minister may, in the Parliament or in public speeches, commit the Government to any course of action save in accordance with the policy of Cabinet.
8. A Minister should bear these principles in mind in making public speeches and not commit the Government in advance to any legislation or major policy which has not been put before Cabinet and approved directly or indirectly.
9. In many Acts there is provision for the Governor-General or the Minister to make subsidiary legislation such as Rules, Regulations or Orders. If the power lies with the Governor-General, the Minister responsible for the subject would put the draft subsidiary legislation to Cabinet. Similarly, unless the matter is very minor, a Minister, having the authority to make subsidiary legislation, would put the draft to Cabinet for collective approval.
10. Bearing these points in mind, Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries should ensure that major policy matters are referred to Cabinet while sparing that body the need to consider routine or trivial subjects.
11. Ministerial Responsibility
11. The most elementary qualification demanded of a Minister is honesty and incorruptibility. It is necessary not only that Ministers should possess this qualification but also that they should appear to possess it.
12. The first duty of Ministers is to play a full part in reaching the decisions on policy matters which only Cabinet can take.
13. Under Article 77 of the Constitution, the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, may charge any Minister with responsibility for any matter or department of Government.
14. A Minister is expected to introduce in Cabinet any memorandum that covers a subject within his portfolio and to undertake and discharge business concerning his Portfolio in Parliament.
15. The individual responsibilities assigned to Ministers must, however, be exercised in accordance with the principle of collective responsibility of Cabinet, as stated in paragraph 3.
The taking of a decision whether to submit a matter to Cabinet or not places a considerable responsibility on a Minister. It he submits too much to Cabinet, the burden of Cabinet business for all Ministers is increased, and it might be said that he is not prepared to carry his share of responsibility. If he submits too little, and appears to act too independently he might lose the confidence of his colleagues and, moreover, if he makes a decision which they are unable to support, he might be called upon to resign, or in a very serious matter it might mean that Cabinet, as a body, would have to resign.
16. There will be, of course, many matters which have to be put to Cabinet because the law says so; for example, where the Constitution or an Act empowers the Governor-General without specifying that it is in his discretion or on the advice or recommendation of some other body or person (e.g. a Service Commission): in such cases when there is no qualification the Governor-General
111. Secrecy
17. On taking office every Minister is required to take the Oath of Allegiance and the Ministerial Oath, which includes an oath of secrecy.
In no circumstance may the nature of the discussion or of the opinions expressed by individual members of Cabinet be divulged.
Discussion between Miniseries under a common obligation of secrecy about subjects to which that obligation applies, should always be so conducted that there is no reasonable likelihood of a breach of that obligation. It is in this respect relevant to note that:
(a) A Minister has responsibilities wider than those relating to his own portfolio and will, in the exercise of those responsibilities, receive documents which do not concern the matter listed in his portfolio.
PART VII
OTHER DUTIES OF THE CABINET OFFICE
I Appointment of a Minister
1. The Prime Minister advises the Governor-General to appoint a member of the House of Assembly or of the Senate to be a Minister under Article 73(2) of the Constitution. This advice would be conveyed by a minute or a letter addressed to the Governor-General by the Prime Minister, the document being prepared in the Cabinet Office.
2. The Governor-General would indicate his acceptance, of the advice in writing and thereupon would sign an Instrument under the Public Seal addressed to the Minister which would be prepared at Government House.
3. The Governor-General would write to the Minister inviting 'nim to take the oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office and, after the Oaths have been taken, the Governor-General would hand the Instrument to the Minister under cover of a letter. Copies of the letter and the Instrument would be sent from Government House to the Cabinet Office for record.
4. The Secretary to the Cabinet would be responsible for:
(a) the publication in the Gazette of a copy of the Instrument and of a Gazette Notice and for the issue of a press release.
(b) allocating to the Minister a Cabinet number, Cabinet cases and keys.
(c) drawing the attention of the Prime Minister to the need to set out an order of precedence of Ministers, from which would follow the allocation of Cabinet numbers and the order of names on the front page of Cabinet Conclusions. (The customary method is for the Deputy Prime Minister to come after the Prime Minister and for other Ministers to follow in order of the first initial of titles of portfolios, with the modification that a Minister with longer service in Cabinet would come before a Minister more recently appointed and the Minister with portfolio would come before a Minister without portfolio. However, this subject is entirely a matter for discretion of the Prime Minister).
(d) ensuring that a Minister has a Seal which may be passed on from the previous Minister unless the portfolio title has changed in which case it may be necessary for a new Seat to be made.
(e) arranging for any Minister who has not already done so to be sworn in as a Justice of the Peace. This would be done through the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
(f) informing the Treasurer, with a copy to the Ministry concerned, of the date on which the Minister assumes office so that appropriate entries can he made on pay vouchers.
(g) notifying the Minister of the first meeting which he will attend with the first Agenda and first Cabinet Papers and for supplying the Minister with a copy of the Manual of Cabinet and Ministry Procedure.
II. Allocation of Portfolios
5. The Prime Minister by minute prepared in the Cabinet Office on his instructions addressed to the Governor-General would, under Article 77 of the Constitution, set out his advice allocating matters and departments of Government to each individual Minister and designating the style which each Minister would be called.
6. The allocation of portfolios is by the Governor-General in writing, on the advice of the Prime Minister, not by Public Seal. Notification to each Minister would be by letter from the Governor-General, issued from Government House, with a copy to the Secretary to the Cabinet.
7. The Cabinet Office would then arrange for a press release and for publication in the Gazette.
8. When allocation is general among Ministers on the occasion of a change of Government or a major re-organization of portfolios, the simplest way for this to be done is to publish an omnibus Gazette Notice covering all Ministers.
9. If a particular Minister is allocated a portfolio or if there are minor changes between Ministers, then an amending public notice would be issued from, the Cabinet Office giving information of the modification of the omnibus Order.
10. A change in portfolios might involve the need to reallocate numbers for Cabinet Papers to Ministers, particularly if the size of the Cabinet increased or decreased. The Secretary to the Cabinet should take the necessary action and inform the Minister concerned.
11. The Secretary to the Cabinet is responsible for ensuring that Permanent Secretaries are notified at the earliest opportunity of the allocation of Portfolios or of any change in allocation.
12. When portfolios are transferred from one Minister to another Minister (or subjects within portfolios), it will be the responsibility of the Secretary to the Cabinet to draw the attention of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry from which subjects are being transferred and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to which the matters have been allocated to ensure that all the relevant files and papers are transferred, as soon as possible to the Ministry or Ministries concerned.
13. The Permanent Secretary of the dispatching Ministry should draw particular attention to files which are in current action by minute to the receiving Permanent Secretary to ensure that action on the matter does not die.
14. Where files and papers are classified by well-defined main groups or categories of business (as directed in paragraph 4 of Appendix H to General Orders) or by subject, the identification of the files should not be difficult. Where, however, there is little or no system of classification of subject papers, the identification of the files to be transferred will present difficulties. Whatever the difficulties, every effort must be made to identify the papers, even if this means that every file must be examined. Files and papers constitute the official record and collective memory of public business and completeness and continuity are essential.
15. When the files for transfer have been identified, they should be listed (file number and title) and sent to the Ministry which is to be responsible for the portfolio subjects. Two copies of the list should be sent to the Ministry concerned where a senior officer should endorse the top copy with a certificate to the effect that the files listed have been received. This certified copy should indicate the new numbers given to the files and should be returned to the Ministry from which the files were received.
16. The Ministry from which the files have been transferred should ensure that the office records, lists and indexes of files are noted to the effect that the files have been transferred to the Ministry or Ministries concerned.
Resignation or Revocation of Appointment of a Minister
17. A Minister might cease to be a Minister as a result of:
(a) resignation
(b) revocation of his Instrument of appointment under Article 74 (3)(c) of the Constitution
(c) any other of the reasons set out in Article 74 ;of, the Constitution
18. A Minister may resign from his office by letter addressed to the Governor-General.
19. If the Prime Minister wishes the appointment of a Minister to be revoked, then the Prime Minister would advise the Governor-General by minute prepared in the Cabinet Office, addressed to the Governor-General, to revoke that appointment under Article 74 (3)(c).
20. The Governor-General would indicate his acceptance of that advice by initialing the minute.
21. The Governor-General would then sign an Instrument under the Public Seal, prepared in Government House.
22. The Governor-General would arrange for the Instrument to be delivered to the person concerned.
23. A copy of the Instrument would be sent to the Cabinet Office and the Secretary to the Cabinet would arrange for a copy of the Instrument to be published in the Official Gazette.
24. In any event the Secretary to the Cabinet would write to the Minister inviting him to return his Cabinet Memoranda and Conclusions to the Cabinet Office.
25. The Secretary to the Cabinet should inform the Treasurer, with a copy to the appropriate Ministry, of the date on which the Minister ceased to hold office so that the appropriate adjustment can be made on the payment vouchers.
IV. General Election
26. The Constitution provides that there shall always be a Prime Minister. Following on a General Election the former Prime Minister and his Cabinet remain in office until the moment when the Governor-General asks him, assuming he has been re-elected and still commands a majority in the House of Assembly to form a new Government or the Governor-General asks some other Member of Parliament to form a Government. In either case at that moment-all the former Ministers cease to be Ministers. This leaves the Prime Minister, whether he is the same person or a different person, free to form his Cabinet and to decide on the allocation of portfolios.
27. The above applies after a General Election but it also applies if there were, for any reason, to be a change of Prime Minister between one General Election and another because, under Article 74 (3)(a) of the Constitution, a Minister shall vacate his office whenever a person is appointed to be a Prime Minister. When this occurs there is no need for Ministers to formally resign or for the Governor-General to revoke their appointments under the Public Seal.
28. After the appointment of a Prime Minister the Cabinet Office has the following duties to perform:
(a) The Secretary to the Cabinet would arrange for the return to the Cabinet Office of all copies of Memoranda and Conclusions held by outgoing Ministers.
(b) The Secretary to the Cabinet would similarly arrange for the return of cases, keys and Ministers' Seals.
(c) When the Governor-General has appointed a person to be Prime Minister, the Prime Minister, by minute prepared in the Cabinet Office, would advise the Governor-General to appoint various persons to be Ministers.
(d) The Prime Minister, similarly by minute from the Cabinet Office, would advise the Governor-General to allocate portfolios to those Ministers.
(e) Action would then continue as in Action on Appointment of a Minister and Action on Allocation of Portfolios.
(f) The Secretary to the Cabinet would advise the Prime Minister on the Cabinet Paper numbers to he given to each Minister and on receipt of the Prime Minister's decision in the matter, would arrange for a Cabinet Memorandum to he issued setting out the numbers and for officials to be informed.
Following on the Prime Minister's decision regarding Ministers and Portfolios the Secretary to the Cabinet would advise the Prime Minister on the posting of Permanent Secretaries to serve those Ministers, with consequent postings of administrative staff; the recommendations would then be put to the Public Service Commission.
(h) The Secretary to the Cabinet would prepare the draft of a memorandum for the Prime Minister to put to Cabinet to advise the Governor-General on the date of the opening of the new Parliament, if that was not done before dissolution.
(i) The date of the opening of the new Parliament must be fixed sufficiently far from the formation of the new Government to enable time to be given for the preparation of the Speech from the Throne.
Action on would then continue as in Action Towards Opening of Parliament.
V. Opening of Parliament
29. In accordance with Article 66(l) and (2) of the Constitution the Prime Minister advised the Governor-General when to prorogue or dissolve Parliament. This would be by letter or minute prepared in the Cabinet Office, signed by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister may well consult Cabinet beforehand but, the decision would not be a Cabinet decision; Cabinet might endorse or take note of the Prime Minister's decision.
30. On receiving the advice, the Governor-General issues a Proclamation in the Gazette.
31. In accordance with the Constitution Cabinet advises the Governor-General when to summon Parliament. The Secretary to the Cabinet should remind the Prime Minister of the need for the subject to be put on the Agenda of a Cabinet meeting. On receipt of the Conclusion of Cabinet on that subject, the Governor-General would issue a Proclamation to be published in the Gazette.
32. When Parliament has been prorogued during the life of the same Government, the date of the summoning of Parliament would normally be decided at the same time as the date of prorogation so that both Proclamations could be published at the same time.
33. After dissolution the new Government would advise the Governor-General on the date of summoning the new Parliament.
34. The Secretary to the Cabinet would prepare the draft of a memorandum for the Prime Minister to put to Cabinet to advise the Governor-General on the date of the opening of the new Parliament. It would be customary for there to be informal consultation with the Governor-General about the date of the opening because he personally is involved in reading the Speech from the Throne.
35. On the day the new Parliament opens, it is normal for the Governor-General to arrive at the Senate Chamber at 11:00 a.m. There may be need for Parliament to do some business before the arrival of the Governor-General such as the election of a Speaker or the appointment of the President of the Senate. Therefore, if there is such business to be transacted, the Proclamation should summon Parliament for a time earlier than 1 1:00 a.m., possibly 9:30 or 10:00 a.m.
36. If there has been dissolution, steps must be taken to form the new Senate.
37. The Secretary to the Cabinet would draw the attention of the Prime Minister to the need for the preparation of a Speech from the Throne.
38. The Secretary to the Cabinet would see that the list of pending legislation is brought up to date and secure the Prime Minister's decision on its contents and circulate the list to Ministers and Permanent Secretaries.
39. The Secretary to the Cabinet would send out a circular to all Permanent Secretaries for contributions for the Speech from the Throne.
40. The Secretary to the Cabinet would coordinate the contributions and prepare a first draft of the Speech for consideration by the Prime Minister and subsequent circulation to Cabinet.
41. After the draft Speech has been finalized by Cabinet or by a Committee of Cabinet the Secretary to the Cabinet must see that two fair copies of the Speech, bound with ribbon, are prepared for presentation by the Prime Minister to the Governor-General at the opening of Parliament, having previously sent a fair copy to Government House.
42. The Secretary to the Cabinet should ensure that a member of the Cabinet Office is present to hand the two copies of the Speech from the Throne to the Prime Minister when he leads the procession from the House of Assembly to the Senate so that the Prime Minister can hand two copies to the Governor-General.
43. At the opening of a new Session, on the return of the Members of the House of Assembly from the Senate, a designated Representative gives notice that the following motion for an address in reply to the Speech from the Throne will he moved at the next meeting:
"Resolved that a humble address be presented to His Excellency the Governor-General thanking him for his most gracious speech at the opening of Parliament".
The Resolution would be seconded by another designated backbencher in due course.
44. Notice of a similar motion would be given in the Senate.
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