AS former Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Rocky Meade settles into his new position of ambassador plenipotentiary, questions have been raised by the Opposition as to where the new role will fit into the public service and whether there is an overlap with existing positions and responsibilities.

The new ambassador will have responsibility for national strategic initiatives in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

Lt Meade, whose appointment became effective on February 13, 2023, will advise the prime minister (and Cabinet when necessary) on, as well as co-ordinate, national strategic initiatives and projects across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to ensure their timely and effective implementation. These include existing and new initiatives that will have a positive long-term impact on the country’s development.

Minister without portfolio in the OPM with responsibility for information Robert Morgan is standing by the Government’s decision to create this new role, noting that there are several national strategic initiatives that are sizeable in scope and span across government that require significant inter-ministerial as well as international coordination from exploration and development to the implementation stage.

“The ambassador will provide the necessary strategic oversight and coordination essential to accelerate successful implementation and execution while minimising associated risks, given the implications for national development. This will assist MDAs in more efficiently achieving outcomes in matters that cut across other entities,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday.

As to where this newly created post will fit in within the public service, Morgan noted that while the existing public service structure may be deemed adequate for the normal running of a State at a relatively stabilised stage of development, the country is significantly underdeveloped and requires several major cross-cutting initiatives.

“Our hard-working public servants are typically fully engaged with their primary responsibilities within their MDAs, resulting in numerous important cross-cutting initiatives and projects being underimplemented over several years. It may be the case that once the country achieves its medium-term developmental goals, such as those impacting Vision 2030, the need for maintaining a coordinator of national strategic initiatives could be revisited,” he said.

Further, in response to queries from the Opposition, Morgan noted that the compensation package of the ambassador plenipotentiary is aligned, approximately, with the package of a chief technical director 1.

Lt Meade has nearly four decades of leadership experience and has led various significant initiatives with impact at the organisational, national, and international levels. These include the Jamaica National Service Corps, expansion and regionalisation of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), expansion and improvement of Caribbean regional disaster response capabilities, and the Caribbean Military Academy, which has students from over 30 countries across five continents.

The new ambassador holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam, a Master of Military Arts and Science Degree from the US Army Command and General Staff College, and masters and bachelor of arts degrees from The University of the West Indies. He has also earned several certificates of achievement, including grand strategy design and implementation, corporate governance, and process management and needs assessment, an OPM release said.

Last September, two days after he was announced as the new Cabinet secretary and head of the public service, Meade declined to take up the post following backlash from members of the public who questioned the constitutionality of the appointment.