Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith has dismissed concerns around whether Jamaica had political representation during Barbados’ independence celebrations and transition to republic status on Tuesday (November 30). 

Senator Johnson Smith, in a tweet on Wednesday, said that the island, like many member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), was officially represented by Jamaica’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Janice Allen. 

She also noted that contrary to public discourse, Prime Minister Andrew Holness personally delivered congratulatory remarks to his Barbadian counterpart Mia Mottley and the wider Bajan public. 

“For those asking, Jamaica was well represented by H.E. Janice Miller, Ambassador of Jamaica to CARICOM. PM @AndrewHolnessJM has also of course formally conveyed his congratulations to PM Mottley and the people of Barbados,” Johnson Smith tweeted.

Amid the jubilation, thousands of Jamaicans on social media spent hours speculating whether there were tensions between Holness and Mottley, as, unlike other leaders, he was noticeably absent in Barbados. 

Holness, who today first tweeted since the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) conference on Sunday, has yet to publicly acknowledge Barbados—with Johnson Smith and State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn the only Government officials to recognise the world’s newest republic. 

Within CARICOM, the Bajan jubilee was heralded with in-person visits from prime ministers Keith Rowley, Phillip Davis, Keith Mitchell and Phillip Pierre, as well as Antiguan minister Charles Fernandez and Montserrat’s Colin Fergus representing the twin-island nation and the British territory respectively.

The respective governments of Dominica, Guyana and St Vincent and the Grenadines delivered official congratulatory greetings on Barbados becoming a republic yesterday.

After a day of searching, Our Today could not find such releases from the governments of Jamaica, Belize, Haiti, St Kitts and Suriname—the remaining members of the 15-country strong CARICOM bloc. 

At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, Barbados ditched Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, becoming the eighth Caribbean republic behind Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname.

Barbados is the first CARICOM state to transition to parliamentary republic status since Dominica in November 1978.

*NB: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Montserrat neither had a political representative nor made an official statement.