In the current race, West Africa has two candidates
Heads of the Commonwealth will converge in Apia, Samoa, from October 21 to 25, 2024 for their normal Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Top on the agenda is the election of a new secretary-general.
Based on its tradition of regional rotation the next Commonwealth Secretary-General will come from the Africa Region and must show a firm commitment to the core values and principles enshrined in the group’s laws.
The candidates for the role are: Senator Joshua Setipa, Lesotho; Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana; and, Dr Mamadou Tangara, Gambia.
The new person will be the seventh Commonwealth Secretary-General but the second Secretary-General from Africa after Nigeria’s Emeka Anyaoku. He was from the West African sub-region.
The Secretary-General is responsible for promoting, and protecting the organisation’s values, and representing the Commonwealth publicly. The Secretary-General is also responsible for the Secretariat’s staff. The successful candidate takes over from Rt Hon Patricia Scotland, King’s Counsel (KC).
The Commonwealth is made up of 56 independent countries drawn from Africa, Asia, America, Europe and the Pacific that advance common objectives and shared goals of prosperity, advancement of democracy and peace. The Association with over 2.7 billion population is headed by King Charles III.
The Candidates:
- Senator Joshua Setipa, Lesotho
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) candidate for the Commonwealth Secretary-General position, Senator Joshua Setipa from Lesotho, was until recently Senior Director of Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Academically, Senator Setipa has a Master of Business Administration and International Finance from the University of Bradford, UK; a Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Trade from The Australian National University, Canberra; and, a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Political Science from the National University of Lesotho.
Between 2015 and 2017 Senator Setipa has a lot of experience formulating and implementing national and regional development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2018 Senator Setipa became the first Managing Director of the United Nations Bank of Technology for Least Developed Countries while earlier in 2017/2018 he served as a senior consultant at the World Bank in Washington DC in the United States.
As the Minister of Trade and Industry for the Government of Lesotho, Senator Setipa spearheaded the adoption of national industrial policy. Additionally, he is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Lesotho National Development Corporation.
He served as Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the World Trade Organization for over six years, being a member of the Executive Management Team.
- Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Ghana
Politically, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has over 7 years of experience as Ghana’s Foreign Minister, over 20 years of political experience spanning various roles, 10 Lead positions on various committees, and more than 16 years as a Member of Parliament
In government, she first served as Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Information, and Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry and has since 2017 been the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana.
As Foreign Minister she is known to have brought great transformation in both human resource development and conditions of service for Foreign Service Officers, in addition to the establishment of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI).
Between 2009 and 2013, as an opposition parliamentarian, Hon. Botchwey served as the spokesperson on Foreign Affairs in addition to being a member of the following Committees in Parliament: Select Committee on Foreign Affairs; Appointments Committee; Defence and Interior Committee, Communications Committee; Gender and Children Committee. She was a member of the ECOWAS Parliament from 2013 to 2017.
Prior to becoming an active politician, she was into a Marketing and Communications Company that served as a consultant to the Ministry of Tourism.
A barrister at Law, Hon Ayorkor Botchwey has the following academic qualifications: Diploma in Public Relations & Advertising, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Ghana; Diploma in Secretarial & Management Studies, Pitman Central College, London;
Certificate in Marketing Management, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, (GIMPA) Ghana; MA in Public Communications & Public Relations, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom; Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (LPC), The University of Law, London, United Kingdom; Bachelor of Laws (LLB), University of London, United Kingdom
Executive MBA, (Project Management Option), University of Ghana Business School, Legon, Ghana; Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme of Ghana; and, Barrister at Law, Qualifying Certificate in law (QCL), Ghana School of Law.
Hon. Botchwey, a member of the Ghana National Association of Alternative Dispute (ADR) Practitioners, is a mother of two.
On Democracy and Good Governance Ghana’s Foreign Minister has this to say, “We have to redefine Commonwealth values – the commitment to democracy and peace, justice and human rights – as the sum of a democratic dividend that includes guaranteeing a high living standard for Commonwealth citizens. While we acknowledge the historic achievements of the Commonwealth in election observation, including the Good Offices of the Secretary-General, it is clear that we need to go beyond the mechanics of elections, to deepening democratic participation and governance in a world defined by social media”.
“The issues that countries cannot by themselves solve, however powerful or rich they might be, have increased tremendously. At the same time, the level of voter dissatisfaction and political extremism calls for a study on more ways to build consensus. This requires greater collaboration between the Secretariat and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
While our historic association reinforces shared traditions and norms for our cooperation, our Commonwealth values should provide a standard for good governance, peace and security, and prosperity, based on the empowerment of women and young people, amplifying the voices of small and vulnerable states, and advocating for sustainable green and blue economies”, she says.
3. H.E Dr. Mamadou Tangara, The Gambia
Dr Mamadou Tangara is a well-known Gambian Diplomat holding the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, since 2018.
The Gambian Diplomat who holds a Doctorate degree (PhD) from Université de Limoges, France, is a multilinguist, fluent in English, French, Spanish, Mandinka, Wolof, Bambara, Dioula, Krio, and others. In addition, he has two master’s degrees from the Université de Limoges and the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium.
In 2019 he won the UNFPA 2019 United Nations Population Award, (Individual Category) in recognition of his courage and leadership through the use of diplomacy both in the global and national arena respectively.
Dr Tangara has been a distinguished member of the Gambian Foreign Service as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of The Gambia to the United Nations in New York.
He has also served as Minister of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology.
Other professional positions held include Coordinator, National Authorising Office Support Unit (NAOSU) for the European Development Fund (EDF) projects and programmes implemented in The Gambia; consultant for the United Nations Fund for Population Affairs (UNFPA) and other International Organisations; Focal Person for UNESCO Science and Technology and Innovation in The Gambia; and Governor for Africa Capacity Building Foundation.
A first-class Pan-Africanist, reputed to have written extensively on Semiology of Cultural Interaction, Literature and Conflict Resolution, and African Writers and their Cultural Heritage; he was in 2009 a fellow of Mo Ibrahim Fellowship programme in Governance for Development in Africa.
Born in Banjul in 1965, Dr Tangara is married with children.
Story: Oppong Baah
