Foreign ministry bats for Commonwealth’s economic and social relevance

As Jamaica’s surprise candidate for the top Commonwealth administrative job of secretary general, foreign minister Kamina Johnson Smith last week officially launched her candidacy in London, the seat of the grouping’s administrative machinery, questions continue to be raised about the usefulness and relevance of the 54-member association of states that, until 1995, was a gathering of Britain and its former colonies.

Career diplomat, Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe, the under-secretary for the multilateral affairs division at Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has pointed to benefits the country has derived from its Commonwealth membership for the past 60 years.

“Jamaica’s relationship with the Commonwealth continues to be a mutually beneficial one, with the country receiving significant benefits from its association with most Commonwealth bodies, particularly through technical assistance under the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, CFTC. Assistance is usually offered in the form of personnel to perform advisory or operational duties, volunteers, consultants and training opportunities,” Stone Roofe said in a written response to Financial Gleaner queries.

By its own admission, however, the Commonwealth Secretariat, which Johnson Smith is vying to head by dethroning current secretary general Baroness Patricia Scotland, who was elected in 2015 as a Caribbean candidate, has painted a picture of dwindling CFTC resources.

The approved secretariat strategic plan, which was due to come into effect from in October 2021 and run until June 2025, sets out a range and resource and other constraints facing the coordinating mechanism.

EXTRABUDGETARY RESOURCES

“Voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation have been declining. They have gone down by 27 per cent in the last six years. The shortfall has been met with an increase in extrabudgetary resources. They are, however, not sustainable in the longer term. The decline in the CFTC may result in a smaller envelope of programme funding in the coming years. This will constrain the secretariat’s capacity to deliver required services to members,” the plan, penned and approved under Baroness Scotland’s direction of the Commonwealth secretariat, said.

The document noted that the decline in the CFTC has been compounded by further challenges, including its members, especially small and vulnerable states, have suffered considerably from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“Their capacity to contribute to Commonwealth funds has decreased on the one hand, while demand for the secretariat’s services has gone up on the other,” it said.

“Jamaica also receives indirect benefits from the Commonwealth’s active role in voicing the concerns of small states on issues of debt-relief and international trade in multilateral bodies such as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund,” Stone Roofe has pointed out.

The foreign ministry has singled out climate change, security, trade, sports development, training of election professionals, and human rights as being among the many areas of direct Commonwealth benefit to Jamaica.

“Through the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub the Commonwealth has helped Jamaica secure a grant to assist it towards establishing the first ever Caribbean green bond. The grant will pay for a ‘readiness initiative’ involving an analysis of the development and operation of a green bond market and the creation of regional green bond guidelines in accordance with international standards,” according to the ministry.

DIVERSIFICATION

In the area of trade, it said, Jamaica benefited from Commonwealth assistance in developing a maritime hub strategy, involving the analysis of bunkering and dry docking. The Commonwealth is also said to have produced research to assist Jamaica achieve its goal of trade diversification and meet the targets set out in the national export strategy.

Other areas of assistance are said to include supporting a trade facilitation benchmark study, debt recording and management, enhancing the competitiveness of Jamaica’s micro, small and medium enterprises, creating an e-commerce strategy or blueprint and a suitable regulatory framework to support e-commerce activities, developing a strategic plan for the export of professional services, and strengthening the capacity of the Planning Institute of Jamaica in environmental and natural resources management.

Despite the resource constraints, the Commonwealth has identified its priority areas for the next three years as including assistance to small and other vulnerable states, the environment and climate change, health and education skills and systems, technology-enabled development, gender equality, and youth development.

The organisation’s strategic plan also promised to strengthen engagement with all Commonwealth-accredited organisations for the benefit of all member countries.

It has noted, too, that the pandemic has underscored the critical importance of digital tools, new technologies, connectivity, innovation and partnerships as a means for countries and their people to survive and thrive.

“Many member countries currently face a shortfall in resources, capacity, skills and infrastructure in this area. The digital age is increasingly shaped by big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the internet of things and remote sensing technologies. It is worth noting that more than 60 per cent of the Commonwealth population is young and relatively more ‘digital savvy’ than the older generations, presenting an opportunity to enable the digital and demographic potential of the Commonwealth. This will require support to address the digital divide in Commonwealth countries. Half the world’s population are still offline, the majority of whom are women and girls,” the Commonwealth strategic plan said.

huntley.medley@gleanerjm.com