Sir Ronald Sanders gaining support within CARICOM for post of Commonwealth Secretary General

The Grenada Government has called on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states to support Sir Ronald Sanders, the Antigua & Barbuda diplomat for the post of Commonwealth Secretary General.

The election will take place, in caucus, when Commonwealth Heads of Government meet in Valalia, Malta from November 27 to 29.

CARICOM member states are yet to choose between Sir Ronald and the Dominica nominee, Baroness Patricia Scotland – a former Attorney General in Britain.

Following their annual summit in Barbados earlier this year, Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, the present CARICOM chairman, said the issue would have been dealt with at a meeting of the CARICOM Bureau. But in a statement, Mitchell, who is also the chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), said that he welcomed the declaration by the new Trinidad & Tobago Government of its support for the Guyanese-born Antigua diplomat.

“After careful consideration of all pertinent aspects of the matter, it is the decision of the government of Trinidad & Tobago to give its full support to the candidate of the government of Antigua & Barbuda, who we believe is best placed to execute the responsibilities of the Office of Secretary General in a manner that would be a tribute to the peoples of the Caribbean Community,” the Government in Port of Spain said in a statement last week.

Mitchell, who is one of the longest-serving CARICOM leaders, said: “It is well known that the Government of Grenada supported the Antigua & Barbuda nominee from the outset, regarding him as a legitimate Caribbean candidate with the knowledge, experience, and vision to invigorate the Commonwealth for the benefit of its peoples.

“I join Prime Minister Keith Rowley in the hope expressed by him last week that ‘others in our region will, in the limited time left, make common cause by unifying our region around Sir Ronald’s candidature’.”

Mitchell said that it is in the region’s interest to unite around Sir Ronald “if our CARICOM is serious about ensuring that one of our own becomes the next Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

“When our region identified the coordination of foreign policy as one of the 4 pillars of our integration movement, it was with a clear understanding that this unity of purpose formed the best option for advancing our foreign policy interest,” he said, adding “Sir Ronald Sanders is our “best option at this time.”

Mitchell said he was, therefore, “hopeful, that in the days ahead those who have not yet done so will throw their full support behind Sir Ronald”. -(CMC)