Taxpayers forced to wait for Johnson Smith C’wealth bid price tag

Jamaicans will have to wait longer to get answers on the money spent by the Government to fund Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith’s campaign for the post of Commonwealth secretary general.

The contest ended in defeat for Johnson Smith in June by the incumbent, Baroness Patricia Scotland.

Edmund Bartlett, leader of government business in the House, said Tuesday that Prime Minister Andrew Holness would respond, at the next sitting, to questions tabled by St Andrew South East Member of Parliament Julian Robinson on June 28.

Bartlett was responding to queries by Robinson about the prime minister’s overdue answers.

Holness should have delivered his responses on July 19.

It is not clear at this point whether Holness will answer the questions during a special sitting of the Lower House Tuesday afternoon to receive Senate amendments to the Road Traffic Act. Bartlett told his colleagues that during that sitting, lawmakers will discuss the traditional summer recess.

Robinson had tabled his questions after The Sunday Gleaner sought ansswers, among other things, on the budget or total cost of the campaign and the source of funding.

In her failed bid to become Commonwealth secretary general, Johnson Smith made stops in the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa as she tried to whip up support for her candidature.

International media have reported a US$99,000 spend (J$15 million) for public relations and thought leadership services from international marketing firm Finn Partners. The three-month contract ended on June 30.

In June, de facto Information Minister Robert Morgan indicated that a full breakdown of Johnson Smith’s campaign financing and expenses will be revealed in the coming weeks.

A joint sitting of Jamaica’s bicameral legislature will be held on August 5, at which time the president of Namibia Hage Geingob will address lawmakers.

editorial@gleanerjm.com

1. Would the prime minister state the following: (a) the total cost of the campaign for Jamaica’s candidature for the post of Commonwealth secretary general; (b) the cost for airfare and accommodation; and (c) the cost for marketing, communications, and public relations for the campaign?

2. Would the prime minister confirm if Finn Partners provided public relations, media relations, and thought leadership services for Jamaica’s candidature for the post of Commonwealth secretary general?

3. If the answer to Part 2 is in the affirmative, would the prime minister state: (a) by whom that company was engaged, (b) the duration of the contract, (c) the amounts paid and payable to the company under the contract, and (d) the source of the funds to pay the company?

4. Would the prime minister indicate whether the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) received any financial or other support from any other government or non-Jamaican entity in connection with Jamaica’s candidacy?

5. If the answer to Part 4 is in the affirmative, would the prime minister provide the details of such support?

6. Would the prime minister state how many persons from Jamaica (inclusive of the GOJ delegation, media, and non-governmental organisations) travelled to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda at taxpayers’ expense?

7. Would the prime minister indicate the total cost of Jamaica’s participation at the CHOGM in Rwanda?