Golding Slams Johnson-Smith’s Candidacy

Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith’s defeat in the race for Commonwealth Secretary-General is being described as an embarrassment by Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding. 

Golding insists the bid was an unnecessary move, which resulted in a division within CARICOM. The leader also slams the Holness administration for its handling of the nation’s pressing problems. Golding is slamming the government for putting forward Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith to challenge the incumbent Baroness Patricia Scotland for the post of commonwealth secretary-general. 

The bid, which ended in defeat for Jamaica on Friday, is being labeled by Golding, as an attempt to divide CARICOM. Golding says the candidature was unnecessary, and the loss, embarrassing. Golding also criticizes the Holness administration for tabling the wrong state of public emergency regulation in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Golding says the country is facing a crisis. He says even with that reality, the government continues to prioritize the wrong things. 

The leader was speaking at the Papine Divisional Conference on Saturday, where he and other members of the party bolstered their candidate for Councilor of the Papine division, Peta-Gay Ferguson. 

Reporter: Velonique Bowen