There is a cloud over Kamina Johnson Smith’s candidacy for the job of secretary general of the Commonwealth. This cloud had been formed long before the Andrew Holness Administration was “approached” to field Johnson Smith as a candidate.

Of course, clouds can yield to a bright sunny day. Once “enstooled” in Marlborough House — as she was recently in Ghana by the Akropong tribe — the power will be in her hands to embark on a brighter day.

I was certainly surprised by the news of Johnson Smith’s candidacy for the Commonwealth job. My first reaction was that the Government of Jamaica must have done its homework and received the support of other members of the Commonwealth, including the leadership of Caricom; I later learnt of Caricom’s position.

According to a communique of the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, March 1-2, 2022 (Belize), the regional body “expressed overwhelming support for the re-election of Baroness Patricia Scotland”. Incidentally, Prime Minister Holness was represented at that meeting by Minister Johnson Smith.

It has since been made clear that each member will vote as it finds fitting. A better option for Jamaica would have been to consider abstaining from the vote at the upcoming Commonwealth meeting instead of fielding a candidate. Why? Such a move would have allowed Jamaica to walk the tight rope of exercising its right to make a sovereign decision without further deepening the wounds of regional disintegration. Instead, in every capital of Caricom, the lyrics from Jah Cure’s King in The Jungle seem an apropos refrain: “[T]o divide and rule, is their only plan, their only plan…”

Jamaica was very likely to have been approached by those in the halls of power in Westminster and given the assurance of strong support, with little care for our regional integration process. This attitude is not new. This attitude has been discussed in Hilary Beckles’ latest book, How Britain Underdeveloped the Caribbean. An integrated region doesn’t serve the interests of the metropole.

Whether Jamaica’s decision is a minor or monumental error, Baroness Patricia Scotland’s decision to continue to fight for a job for which she has lost considerable support is concerning, to say the least. The British thing to do is for her to step aside, if only to allow the institution to be freed of the disrepute brought on by allegations of mismanagement. This is bigger than personal aspirations. This is bigger than the traditions of a complete term.

On the other hand, Johnson Smith has been generally regarded as a worthy candidate. Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda who railed against Jamaica’s decision to field a candidate, made clear that under different circumstances Johnson Smith would be a great candidate for the job. It is unfortunate, therefore, that a journalist from a popular Jamaican radio station would find it okay to say that Prime Minister Browne “should mind the business of the Eastern Caribbean”.

Excellent credentials aside, Johnson Smith lost an opportunity to show grace, diplomacy, and tact in the manner she rebuffed Baroness Scotland’s overtures for her to withdraw. Johnson Smith’s response reminded me of a popular meme of a Jamaican man hilariously declaring, “Dat nah go happen, dat will never happen.”

Another concern which has not been given much attention is whether a successful Johnson Smith will simply complete the Caribbean’s term at the helm. Put differently, will she simply serve for two years and then allow an African candidate to take over in 2024, or will she be allowed to seek two full terms? One thing is certain, the traditions of the Commonwealth have been disrupted and that’s not a bad thing.

Having agreed that Johnson Smith is a qualified candidate for the job of Secretary General of the Commonwealth, the issue of the cloud remains. The cloud hovering over Johnson Smith is that of Jamaica’s foreign policy agenda. An agenda which has been questioned repeatedly over the last few years in the local press, including comments from Curtis Ward, a former diplomat. To be clear, Jamaica’s foreign policy decisions do not begin and end with Johnson Smith, but she certainly plays a key role in the determination and execution of said decisions.

It is hoped that once she leaves Kigali with the top job, she would shed the weight of the cloud and embark on an agenda which seeks to promote greater cooperation, especially south-south cooperation. Approximately 90 per cent of Commonwealth countries are in the global south and are yearning to move from the periphery of the global economic superstructure, a status whose genesis can be dated back to the time when Britannia ruled the seas.

Sir Shridath Ramphal, the most respected of Commonwealth Secretaries General, was ushered into the leadership of the Commonwealth at a crucial time, a time when the winds of the cold war were blowing in every corner of the globe. Guyana’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Forbes Burnham contributed to the global agenda for states to take a non-aligned approach to global affairs. Sir Shridath Ramphal became foreign minister in 1972 and chaired a meeting in Georgetown of non-aligned foreign ministers in the same year; his leadership, and that of Guyana, in advancing non-alignment and south-south cooperation increased his profile within the Commonwealth of nations. In 1975 he became Commonwealth Secretary General and remained at the helm until 1990.

It must be made clear that within Caricom, and the wider global community, Jamaica has built a fine legacy of leadership. Within the quasi-Cabinet framework of Caricom, Jamaica has portfolio responsibility for external trade negotiations, and Jamaicans have provided yeoman service to the region in navigating the tortuous waters of the EU-Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations.

At international fora foreign nations have been known to adopt positions taken by Jamaica. The International Seabed Authority is headquartered in Jamaica. We should be proud of this and leverage it as best we can; indeed, the blue economy is of critical importance to the region and environmental concerns regarding our use of maritime resources is a key part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Within some capitals of Caricom, the mantra of long-gone Prime Minister of Barbados Errol Barrow is being sung: “Friends of all, satellites of none.” Meanwhile, it seems that in Kingston the mantra of another former prime minister, Donald Sangster, is being sung: “We are with the West.” There is a litany of votes by Jamaica in recent years at the UN and other fora that shows a lack of progressive leadership.

As I pen this article, an Agri-investment Forum and Expo is being held in Guyana. Prime Minister Holness is notably absent. Perhaps the lack of a direct flight between Kingston and Georgetown and the visit of the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind prevented his attendance. Jamaica is ably represented in Guyana by Pearnel Charles Jr, minister of agriculture. Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, missed the opening ceremony but was able to make it to Georgetown.

In decades past the leaders of the big four — Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago — were very likely to attend regional fora and provide leadership, especially during critical periods such as we are now experiencing.

It is refreshing to note that Prime Minister Keith Rowley has moved past comments about Trinidad and Tobago made in poor taste by a former Guyanese president. He showed up in Guyana and delivered a powerful speech that we all hope leads to action instead of more of the so-called implementation deficit.

The world is currently going through a turbulent period. A period of war. A period of economic dislocation. A period of environmental degradation and frequent climate disasters. A period of death and ill health brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This is our generation’s 1944-1945. The period during which, as the embers of the great war cooled, institutions were created to ensure a more stable and prosperous world. Those institutions remain with us, what we now need is strong and progressive leadership. Over to you, Minister Johnson Smith. I wish you well.

Dr Samuel Braithwaite is a lecturer in Department of Economics at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or braithwaitesamuel@gmail.com.