SENATORS on Friday expressed support for Jamaica’s nominee for Commonwealth secretary general Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, offering warm tributes to the foreign affairs minister.

The well-wishes and endorsements came on the motion for adjournment, after Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson read Johnson Smith’s commitment statement on her nomination.Government Senator Kavan Gayle told the Senate that Johnson Smith was a giant of a woman, who was “built for this”, and would do extremely well. “I am confident that you’re going to move on to treat with the needs of the Commonwealth and maybe later on, even global. We are confident that you will go through and you are going to raise the profile of Jamaica to the world,” Gayle said.

Leader of Opposition Business Senator Peter Bunting, speaking on behalf of his colleagues, said he sensed that it was expected that this was Johnson’s Smith’s last sitting in the Senate. “In the relatively short time I have been in the Senate we have had a few bumpy moments, but in recent times I think things have been proceeding on a more cordial and collegial level; if this is indeed the last time that you’re with us as a member of this chamber I want to thank you for your contribution, and look forward to seeing you in other capacities,” he said.

Government Senator Natalie Campbell Rodriques said Johnson Smith was deserving of the post as she had worked hard with unquestionable integrity. “You deserve this, and Jamaica deserves this, because Jamaica has always promoted the idea that our people can be the best of the best anywhere. While your victory may be a loss to Jamaica, it’s a gain for the wider Commonwealth.”In her response, Senator Johnson Smith said “if it was Jamaica to vote for me, if it was Jamaicans voting for me, ah win already”, pointing to the public show of support for her candidacy, locally, across the region and internationally.

“I’ve been running a positive campaign, a dignified campaign, and I’ve been very dedicated and committed to keeping it that way. There have been only one or two persons who have sought to distract with unfortunate incidents that they tried to take globally and expand on it,” she stated.She stressed that her leadership of the Commonwealth Secretariat would benefit the country: “We have operated at every different level, but we have not led and there is absolutely no reason why a Jamaican should not be in that role.”

The foreign affairs minister said she was committed to promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, increasing advocacy on climate change and financing, pushing gender and youth empowerment, and advancing good governance with the secretariat office’s role, and its technical capacity.The latter, she said, has become less known, “because it has become less connected to people, perhaps due to reductions in funding, and due to lack of confidence there has been a fall-off in some of its ability to deliver. It is believed by many of the countries with whom I’ve engaged that Jamaica’s leadership in my person could return that level of support”.Johnson Smith needs at least 28 of 54 Commonwealth votes to be elected to take up the post from the incumbent Baroness Patricia Scotland, who was elected on a Caribbean Community ticket in 2015. Scotland, whose tenure has been fraught with controversy, is seeking a second term.The decision on a Commonwealth Secretary General appointee will culminate in Kigali, Rwanda, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled for the week of June 20.

— Alphea Sumner