Explainer: The Commonwealth Secretary General Race & Why Only African Candidates?
L-R: Candidates for the upcoming Commonwealth Secretary General election: Dr. Momodou Tangara, Gambia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Joshua Setipa of Lesotho, and Hon. Shirley Botchway, Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister. Photo Credit: Commonwealth
By Edward Francis Dalliah
By the end of October, the Commonwealth Heads of Government are set to meet in Apia, Samoa, an island nation in Polynesia – a subregion of Oceania, where they will vote for a new Commonwealth Secretary-General.
This year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the first to be held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State, from 21st to 27th October, 2024, will elect one of three candidates – all from Africa: Dr. Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia, Hon. Shirley Botchway from Ghana, and Senator Joshua Setipa of Lesotho.
But who are these three African candidates and why is it an all-African race? Well, Africa makes up more than a third of the Commonwealth’s 56 member states. The Commonwealth also has a policy of regional rotation of its leadership which has now presented Africa’s turn.
This article takes a closer look at the candidates, history and structure of the Commonwealth.
On September 11, candidates for the Commonwealth Secretary General Position faced off in a debate held at Chatham House in London and took questions from Commonwealth Parliamentarians, international organisations and civil society representatives at an event titled ‘The future of the Commonwealth’, moderated by broadcast journalist, Zeinab Badawi. Photo grid by the Commonwealth.
What is the Commonwealth?
The Commonwealth is the world’s oldest international political association of states with 56 independent and equal countries and a population of up to 2.7 billion people. Tracing its origins back to the first half of the 20th Century, the Commonwealth started with a few self-governing countries of the British Empire known then as the “Dominion”.
The official Commonwealth website reveals that back in 1949 after British colonies like India became fully independent, they opted “to become a republic which didn’t owe allegiance to the British King or Queen” however, they still maintained membership with the Commonwealth.
This marked the start of another chapter of the Commonwealth after a Commonwealth Prime Ministers meeting in London leading to a declaration establishing the modern Commonwealth. Since then, the body has increased to 56 members with Togo being the latest addition in June 2022.
According to the Commonwealth Secretariat, the decision of the Heads of Government to elect their seventh Secretary-General will be guided by “the Agreed Memorandum on the Establishment and Functions of the Commonwealth Secretariat (revised 2022) and the principle of regional rotation.”
Why are all the three Candidates Africans?
The memorandum cited above states in paragraph 43 that “in determining the period of tenure of remaining diplomatic and other professional staff, the Secretary-General will have regard to the need for rotation of staff, in order to ensure that qualified Commonwealth citizens from all member countries have the opportunity to serve as members of staff and also the possible need to stagger appointments to ensure continuity.”
Therefore, as a result of this agreement, the three candidates who are vying for the position of Secretary-General are all African.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General
The Commonwealth Secretary-General is the head of the Association’s Secretariat and is responsible for representing the body publicly since its establishment in 1965.
The position has been occupied by six individuals from different continents. The current Secretary-General in office is Hon. Patricia Janet Scotland of Dominica Republic who will be stepping down this month.
Looking at the rotation policy it can be seen that the next in line for the Secretary General role should come from Africa.
Screengrab photo taken from the Commonwealth website
Who are the three Candidates?
Dr Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia
Dr Mamadou Tangara is a Gambian diplomat and a trained journalist, he is currently the Country’s Foreign Minister – a position he held in the former regime from 2010 to 2012 and after the change of government in 2016, he was re-appointed to the same position by the government of President Adama Barrow from 2018 till date. He also served as Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology under former President Jammeh.
Besides his ministerial positions, Dr. Tangara served as an Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Gambia’s Mission to the United Nations in New York. He was Chairman of the University of The Gambia Governing Council, President of Alliance Franco-Gambienne and Honorary Ambassador of the Brabant Wallon Region (Belgium).
Appearing at the Commonwealth Secretary-General debate held in London’s Chatham House, on 11th September 2024, Dr Tangara highlighted that those who are saying the Commonwealth is a “neo-colonial institute” are not familiar with it. He said he was once having that mindset in his days as a student. However, when he was privileged to attend the Commonwealth Conference Summit in Perth and Rwanda, he “realised that there is no one imposing anything on anyone”.
Photo Credit: The Commonwealth
The Gambia joined the Commonwealth after its independence in 1965, however, after 48 years of being a member of the international body, the country announced its withdrawal in 2013 under the leadership of the former President Jammeh who labelled the commonwealth as a “neo-colonial institution”. A publication by The Point Newspaper in 2013 highlighted that the government announcing its decision to withdraw from “the Commonwealth of Nations is final and not subject to negotiation”.
Following the December 2016 election which ended the presidency of Jammeh, beginning a new chapter for the country under the leadership of President Adam Barrow, the country rejoined the Commonwealth on 8th February of 2018. Since then, the Country has received various support from the body ranging from education, and human rights among others.
2. Ms Shirley Ayorkor of Ghana
Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway from Ghana is currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana since 2017. According to Ghana’s Foreign Ministry, Ms. Botchway has led the Council of Ministers of the 15-Member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for two terms from July 2020 to the present.
In addition, she has extensive experience in diplomacy having served as a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in the last term of President John Agyekum Kufuor, from 2006-2007 and 2008-2009. She also served in the ECOWAS parliament from 2013 to 2017.
In her debate speech, she enthused that “the Commonwealth is meaningful if it impacts the lives and safeguards our planet”. She added that challenges experienced by the Commonwealth over the past years have affected the potential of member states to build resilience, improve the lives of the people and achieve sustainable development. Such challenges are climate change, threats to democracy and human rights including misinformation and disinformation.
Ghana joined the Commonwealth in 1957 following its independence from Britain and has been receiving support from the Commonwealth Secretariat to tackle extremist views, managing income/taxation and risk in its petroleum sector, and corruption among others.
3. Mr Joshua Setipa of Lesotho
Senator Joshua Setipa from Lesotho is the first Lesotho national to vie for the Commonwealth Secretary-General position. He is currently a Senior Director for the Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Directorate for the Commonwealth. According to his campaign booklet, he has gained over “25 years of executive positions at the national, regional, and multilateral levels – formulating and implementing economic development policies.”
He also served as the Minister of Trade and Industry for Lesotho from 2015 to 2017 and was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as the first Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries in November 2018.
During the debate, Mr Setipa acknowledged the work of the Commonwealth as a body and the work of the former and current Commonwealth Secretary-Generals. He said that “the relevance of the Commonwealth should be seen through the lens of a political association of equal and independent countries with a shared commitment to values and principles enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and it should not be seen through the lens of its colonial past”.
Lesotho Joined the Commonwealth in 1966 following its independence from Britain and has been receiving support from the Commonwealth Secretariat to tackle corruption, and gender inequality among others.
The Structure of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth is headed by the King of Britain, His Majesty King Charles III, who has a lifetime term that will pass on to his predecessor. The Secretariat is the intergovernmental organisation that supports member countries and coordinates Commonwealth activities. The association has a Board of Governors where all member states are represented by a High Commissioner which is headed by The High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea to the United Kingdom, Ms Winnie Kiap.
The Commonwealth also has a Chair-in-Office position which is currently occupied by The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Moreover, it also has a Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal which operates under legal agreements by all Member States.
What is the work of the Commonwealth Secretary-General?
The Secretary-General manages the Commonwealth Secretariat under “the strategic guidance and direction set by Heads of Government or their duly appointed representatives”.
This includes attending the meetings of Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers; other Ministerial meetings; the Commonwealth Board of Governors; the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors; and other high-level meetings.
He/she is also responsible for the staff of the Secretariat including international civil servants at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters in London and the Commonwealth Small States Offices in New York and Geneva.
This article was first published on FactCheckGambia.org on the link below. https://factcheckgambia.org/explainer-the-commonwealth-secretary-general-race-why-only-african-candidates/
