African candidates compete for top Commonwealth post

Thanks to a regional rotation, the next Commonwealth secretary-general is due to come from Africa, and candidates from Lesotho, Ghana and The Gambia are all keen to get the job for the next four to eight years. News24 reports that career diplomat Joshua Setipa from Lesotho, The Gambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Mamadou Tangara and Ghanaian Regional Integration Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey are in the running, with a selection due from next month. Whoever gets it will run the organisation during a decisive time, said Anne Therese Gallagher, director-general of the Commonwealth Foundation. ‘The next Commonwealth secretary-general will be pivotal in shaping the organisation’s long-term relevance, ensuring that its central institutions remain at the forefront of international co-operation; that it stays true to the Commonwealth’s values, and that it addresses issues that genuinely matter to the 2.7bn citizens of the Commonwealth,’ she said. The 56 member states will vote at this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October. There have been six Commonwealth secretary-generals since 1965. Nigerian Emeka Anyaoku, who served from 1990 to 2000 as the organisation's third, is the only African to ever lead the Commonwealth.

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