JAMAICA | OPM Says Kamina's Failed Commonwealth Sec-Gen bid Cost Jamaicans $43-Million

KINGSTON,  Jamaica, August 8, 2022 - In the face of mounting criticism and public pressure, the Office of the Prime Minister has jumped ahead of his promised September timeframe to announce that the  Jamaican Government has spent a  total of $18.2 million on the failed attempt by Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith to replace Dominican-born Baroness Patricia Scotland as Commonwealth Secretary General.

However, the  interrogation of a statement on Sunday from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), revealed that a combined total of some $43 million dollars had been spent by the government of Jamaica on the campaign by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, to become Commonwealth Secretary General.

According to the statement, the $18.2 million that was expended on the Johnson Smith campaign covered air and ground transportation, COVID-19 tests, meals and accommodation, public relations/communications support activities for staging of events such as the launch and engagements with delegations as well as IT support, printing of documents, photography, food, and beverages.

Another $25 million was spent to facilitate the delegation, which included Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet, that attended the week-long Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. 

The  statement explained that of the $25 million that was spent by the government for its delegation to attend the Summit was absorbed by three participating ministries, with the OPM being responsible for $12.8 million of the amount. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade forked up $7.7 million, while the Ministry of Tourism contributed $5.1 million. 

The statement also confirmed that global marketing agency, FINN Partners provided public relations, media relations and thought leadership services for Johnson Smith. 

“The government of Jamaica was not a party to this arrangement, which was secured by corporate Jamaica,” the statement added.

In June, Shadow Minister of Finance and Planning, member of parliament Julian Robinson tabled a number of questions in  parliament to the attention of the Prime Minister, pertaining to the expenditure for Jamaica's candidature for the post of Commonwealth Secretary General.

The Prime Minister was expected to answer questions in the Parliament related to the cost of the campaign two weeks ago, however, he missed the deadline and announced that the questions would have been answered in September.  

The following are the questions posed by the shadow finance minister to Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

1. Would the Prime Minister state the following:
   1. The total cost of the campaign for Jamaica's candidature for the post of Commonwealth Secretary General;
   2. The cost for Airfare and accommodation; and 
   3. 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:
   1. by whom that company was engaged,
   2. the duration of the contract,
   3. the amounts paid and payable to the company under the contract, and
   4. 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?

In providing the answers Sunday night, the OPM said it was “fulfilling its public commitment to transparency and accountability”. The release of these figures to the media however, does not negate the parliamentary responsibility of the prime minister to answer the opposition’s questions in the House of Representatives in September.

The OPM asserted that Johnson Smith’s campaign was efficiently conducted and utilised the existing channels and resources, including already established travel plans and engagements.

“This significantly minimised additional and direct expenditure from the budget for the campaign,” it insisted.

The prime minister’s office highlighted that Johnson Smith’s candidature was announced in April and launched that same month in London, with some assistance for this event from corporate Jamaica.

“The Minister made strategic use of the opportunities offered by impending official engagements, to carry out lobbying activities. In that regard, in her capacity as Foreign Minister, Minister Johnson Smith attended meetings of the Economic and Social Council (United Nations, New York, April 2022); the CARICOM Agri-Investment Forum & Expo (Guyana, May 2022); the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (United Nations, Geneva, June 2022); and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Rwanda, June 2022)”.   

It also noted that Johnson Smith met with Heads of Government and counterpart Ministers on the margins of these programmed activities, to conduct the work of the Jamaican delegation, and simultaneously, to promote the candidature. 

“This is standard operation in international organisations, particularly by small states like Jamaica, which are conscious of the need to capitalise on these avenues to conduct international relations, in order to minimise costs,” said the OPM.

It disclosed that the foreign affairs minister’s travel schedule took her to seven African countries in 10 days as she sought their votes for the secretary general post.

The OPM said the Jamaican government ran a clean, transparent, principled campaign that met the standards of accountability.