Governments leaders in the Commonwealth are heading to Samoa this week to elect a new secretary-general, with ministers from The Gambia, Ghana and Lesotho up for the top spot.
When Commonwealth leaders meet in Samoa on 21-27 October for their Heads of Government Meeting, they will select and appoint the next secretary-general to succeed Dominica-born Patricia Scotland, who has held the post since 2016.
The three candidates are African, in line with the Commonwealth’s regional rotation – The Gambia’s Mamadou Tangara, Ghana’s Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Joshua Setipa of Lesotho.
Home to 2.7 billion people with a combined GDP of around $13 trillion, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 countries, 21 of which are in Africa. South Africa and Zimbabwe are not members of the Commonwealth.
The organisation has rarely stepped beyond its symbolic role and is tainted by its reputation as a relic of the past. That legacy has held back the Commonwealth’s influence and credibility internationally. It has faced criticism in recent years for its waning relevance.
At a forum last month at London’s Chatham House think tank, none of the three candidates produced plans for radical change.
This may have been an attempt to avoid rocking the boat. Many international relations specialists say that the Commonwealth’s power structures – headed by the British monarch and with its headquarters in London – are at least as anachronistic as the much-criticised UN system and Bretton Woods institutions, which date back eight decades.
The Commonwealth has its roots in the British Empire and was founded on 11 December 1931.
Tangara, 59, has been the minister of foreign affairs, international cooperation and Gambians abroad since 2018, and held the same position from 2010 to 2012. He has served as The Gambia’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in New York, the role he took on after working as minister of higher education, research, science and technology.
Under his watch, a number of Gambian diplomats have been recalled for inappropriate behaviour in the US, Cuba, Mauritania and Russia.
From 2008 to 2010, before his appointment as minister, he served as a coordinator for the European Development Fund (EDF) projects and programmes implemented in The Gambia, and as a consultant for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). He is fluent in French.
Tangara wants to “collectively harness the diversity of values that is the Commonwealth of Nations to face challenges together”. He has received individual endorsements for his candidacy, including from the High Commissioner for The Gambia to the UK, Fatou Bensouda.
Joshua Setipa, Lesotho
With more than 25 years of experience in public office and in the international sector, Setipa, 55, was trade minister from 2015 to 2017. He also served as managing director of the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries from 2018 to 2022.
Already in the Commonwealth system as senior director for the Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Directorate, this could be a positive mark towards his candidacy.
However, he dissolved the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) board in 2017 after the board allegedly inflated sitting allowances to the M1.2m ($68K) during their meetings for 2016.
He has been endorsed by Commonwealth members in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
Ghana Foreign Affairs Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
The lawyer and diplomat has served as Ghana’s Foreign Affairs minister since 2017, with previous experience as deputy foreign affairs minister, deputy trade minister, deputy information minister, and a four-term MP.
Botchwey gained international experience during Ghana’s tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2021 to 2023, her role as chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, and her representation of Africa in G7 discussions.
“The Commonwealth should become the second-most consequential organisation of states globally, after the UN,” she tells The Africa Report, pledging to drive the agenda by forging stronger partnerships with the UN and its affiliates, the EU, regional organisations and civil society to bolster the Commonwealth’s voice.
With 60% of the Commonwealth’s population under 30, Botchwey sees both opportunity and challenge in addressing rising unemployment and inequality in access to quality education.
Botchwey had to defend the foreign ministry, which was accused of acquiring a house at an inflated price in Oslo, Norway, to be used as an embassy. Although this became an issue during the 2020 Ghanaian elections, the ministry firmly denied the accusations put forth by an MP. The ministry said an Oslo court case levied against the agent selling the home to the Ghanaian government was never carried out.
She has received endorsements from Antigua and Barbuda, Cyprus, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya and the African Union.
The Africa Report
