Jul 27, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

(Kaieteur News) – There have been calls for Minister Juan Edghill to resign. But very few of those making that demand have justified the basis for doing so. Is it by virtue of the doctrine of ministerial responsibility? If so, there is no basis to do so as yet.

The doctrine of ministerial responsibility, as it has evolved in Westminster-style democracies, rests on a vital distinction: ministers are constitutionally answerable to parliament for every action of their departments. Yet the idea that a minister could be held personally responsible for every operational failure was recognised as unrealistic even in the 19th century.