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JAM | Apr 6, 2022

No word yet on Foreign Ministry stewardship if Johnson Smith becomes next Commonwealth secretary-general

Gavin Riley

Gavin Riley / Our Today

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Prime Minister Andrew Holness is shown something of interest by Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, during the official opening and naming ceremony of the new headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on January 19, 2022. The new headquarters, located at 2 Port Royal Street in downtown Kingston, was officially named ‘The Hugh Lawson Shearer Building’, in honour of the late former leader. (Photo: JIS)

Weeks ahead of the showdown between incumbent Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland and Jamaica’s candidate Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaican officials are reiterating their full backing of the government minister and senator.

However, should Johnson Smith assume leadership of the Commonwealth Secretariat come July, what is the likely future stewardship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade she currently leads? 

Is there a consideration by the Andrew Holness-led government for succession planning? 

De facto information minister, Robert Nesta Morgan, responding to inquiries by Our Today during Wednesday’s (April 6) post-Cabinet press conference, briefly acknowledged the importance of the portfolio in strengthening Jamaica’s diplomatic standing in the Caribbean and the wider globe. 

Morgan added that until addressed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who oversees Cabinet appointments, the Government of Jamaica is not in a position to comment or speculate on potential replacements.

“The appointment to Cabinet, especially for an area as sensitive and important as foreign affairs, that’s the imprimatur of the prime minister. I could never even opine on it, other than to say that we await his decision as to what he will do,” he told Our Today.

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) with responsibility for Information, Hon. Robert Morgan, stresses a point while fielding questions from journalists during a virtual post-Cabinet press briefing on February 9, 2022. (Photo: JIS)

Johnson Smith, portfolio minister since 2016, was announced as Jamaica’s “pre-eminent candidate” on April 1 in seeking to become the third Caribbean national and second-ever woman secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations. 

The candidature was not welcomed by all in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as immediate past chairman, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, called the move by Jamaica a divisive, “monumental error”.

Voting for the new secretary-general will take place this June in Kigali, Rwanda when the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is hosted in East Africa. 

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Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet 2022 Commonwealth of Nations Commonwealth Secretariat Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland Government of Jamaica Jamaica Kigali Minister Kamina Johnson Smith Minister Robert Morgan Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade Office of the Prime Minister post-Cabinet press briefing Prime Minister Andrew Holness Rwanda

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