Former Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson, says that though he is advocating for a new constitutional model, the change cannot be rushed.

Jamaica’s present Constitution was approved by the United Kingdom and is fundamentally linked to the Westminster model – the British parliamentary system of government.

Mr Patterson states that it is time to move towards a new model better suited to Jamaica, adding that the present Constitution divides the nation and keeps citizens in permanent rivalry, as if they were hostile tribes.

However, he notes that shifting the constitutional model should be thorough and only undertaken when Jamaicans become truly aware of who they are.

Mr. Patterson says he hopes the younger generation will be audacious enough to fight for the constitutional change needed.

Mr. Patterson was delivering the Norman Manley Distinguished Lecture in Kingston on Wednesday.

His lecture was entitled “Constitutional Renewal, Caribbean Integration and the Rule of Law: Charting the Region’s Next Chapter.”