Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica’s candidature for the Commonwealth Secretary-General position was carefully considered and not intended to divide the Caribbean region. 

Holness, speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 5), said the timing was unfortunate due to his working visit to the US capital of Washington DC but insisted that the country shared several ideological parallels with the Commonwealth. 

“Members of this House as well as the Jamaican public would be aware of my announcement of Jamaica’s candidature in the person of Minister Kamina Johnson Smith for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth,” he began.

“Jamaica believes in the Commonwealth; its purpose, principles and functions. Its 54 countries, 2.5 billion people, races, cultures and great diversity are bound together with the commonalities of the value we place on peace, democracy, development and, of course, our shared language,” added the prime minister.

According to Holness, leaders from several unnamed countries approached Jamaica and petitioned for the island to offer an alternative option to incumbent Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland. 

He said that Jamaica took the view, at that time, that whatever the issues that fuelled momentum for Commonwealth members to seek alternative candidates should be dealt with through “dialogue, to avoid disruptions”.

Still, the prime minister told Parliament that “it is clear the impetus to seek an alternative candidate strongly persists”, as Kenya (later withdrawn), Tuvalu and Jamaica have since announced bids for the top Commonwealth post. 

On seeing these developments, Holness concluded that, for better or worse, Scotland’s first term has “left room for [a] challenge”, which Jamaica has been considering in “recent weeks”.

In this vein, Holness said that he consulted with leaders from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) bloc, to gain a “better understanding” of their thoughts on the leadership of the Commonwealth Secretariat as well as perceptions of Johnson Smith’s potential appeal.

“With very limited exceptions, the responses of the heads of government and heads of state, as well as foreign ministers with whom we engaged across regions, have been extremely encouraging. With several of them voluntarily committing to seek support for [Johnson Smith’s] candidature from their regional colleagues,” continued Holness.

“On the strength of that feedback, and more importantly my personal knowledge of the minister’s unwavering commitment to public service in the interest of global development, we took a sovereign decision to put forward a candidate that has demonstrated skill, energy and competence to bring unity, accountability and focus to leadership of the Secretariat and the wider Commonwealth family,” he said further.

Holness explained that he has spoken to CARICOM chairman, Belizean Prime Minister John Briceño since Jamaica’s April 1 announcement, even though not elaborating on the results of the exchange. 

In the meantime, however, a meeting between CARICOM heads is slated for Wednesday, where the state of affairs will be the main agenda for fulsome discussions.

As Scotland’s tenure came under increased international scrutiny since 2020, Holness declared unequivocally “there has never been a unanimous position of support for the incumbent”—contradicting the March 3 communiqué after the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Belize.

Against the background that Jamaica consulted with regional leaders and the “persisting issue” of Scotland’s tenuous leadership, Holness called ‘divisive, controversial’ accusations on the country unfair.

“It is never Jamaica’s intention to seek to divide our CARICOM family and, as a result, the established processes for dialogue and communication will be the only channels that Jamaica will employ in these matters,” noted PM Holness.

The prime minister slammed suggestions that Jamaica’s renewed ambitions to transition to a republic held weight on its bid for the Commonwealth secretary-general post, adding that out of the 54 member countries, only 15 have Queen Elizabeth II recognised as head of state (or Commonwealth Realm countries).

“As early as 2016, my Government declare that we would move towards a republican form of government and, in 2021, I declared a pathway for this to be done. This was before any contemplation of Jamaica’s candidacy for the secretary-generalship of the Commonwealth,” argued Holness.

“Nevertheless, membership in the Commonwealth is not dependent on the Queen being head of state. In fact, of the 54 members of the Commonwealth, only 15 are Realm countries,” he asserted further.

Holness also denied any link between the announcement of Kamina Johnson Smith as the island’s candidate and Rwandan President Paul Kagame visiting Jamaica next Wednesday. 

According to the prime minister, Kagame was personally invited for an April 2020 visit. However, due to the worsening coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the state visit was put off and only revisited two years later as respective situations improved.

“There is absolutely no correlation between Minister Johnson Smith’s candidacy and the state visit of President Kagame,” Holness told the House of Representatives.

“We look forward to hosting the leader of one of the most progressive countries on the African continent,” he added.

READ MORE:

• Jamaica announces Kamina Johnson Smith’s candidacy for Commonwealth Secretary-General
• Rwanda president to visit Jamaica next week
• Battle lines drawn? Gaston Browne leading questions against Johnson Smith’s Commonwealth candidacy