The next Commonwealth Secretary-General? Candidate from Lesotho

The next Commonwealth Secretary-General? Candidate from Lesotho.

Senator Joshua Setipa is from Lesotho. He was recently Senior Director of Strategy, Portfolio, Partnerships and Digital Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat and his candidacy has been endorsed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Published 11 July 2024.

• Can you tell us about your experience of the Commonwealth growing up, living and working in a Commonwealth country?

During my early years as a Protocol Officer in the Lesotho Foreign Service, I had the opportunity to assist a delegation led by the Director of Political Affairs at the Commonwealth. Observing their passionate and coherent discussions, the team’s commitment to finding resolutions to our political challenges left a deep impression on me. I saw firsthand the invaluable assistance provided in building democratic institutions and strengthening electoral processes. This transformative impact informed my perception of the Commonwealth as devoted to its members, and I continue to view it as a formidable partner for Lesotho.

I have been fortunate enough to engage with the Commonwealth through various channels. In my role as a Lesotho diplomat at the World Trade Organization in 1998, I had the honour of drafting the initial proposal advocating for the acknowledgment of the vulnerabilities of 41 developing nations, 33 of which are part of the Commonwealth. This proposal was instrumental in establishing a new recognised group of countries known today as the SVEs, showcasing the Commonwealth's capacity to bring about significant change.

Additionally, while serving at the World Trade Organization, I facilitated cooperation between the Commonwealth and developing member states to provide trade-related technical support, enabling them to engage effectively in the global economy under the Doha Development Agenda. As Minister for Trade and Industry, I took advantage of the Commonwealth Hubs and Spokes program, which connected me with a trade expert offering guidance on policy development and implementation within my Ministry.

Most recently, as the Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries, I entered into a partnership agreement with the current Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland, KC, to assist Commonwealth least developed countries in conducting Technology Needs Assessments and enhancing their innovation ecosystems.

• Has your upbringing influenced your career choices in politics, development and diplomacy?

Lesotho, my home country, is globally recognised as a small nation. It is unique in that it is completely surrounded by another country, which presents its own set of challenges. When people glance at a map, they often overlook us and only see South Africa.

As a result, Lesotho must strive twice as hard to gain recognition on the global stage. From a young age, I learned that I had to surpass expectations and be twice as skilled as others due to these inherent limitations. This means that there are very few individuals from Lesotho in prestigious organisations such as the UN, the World Trade Organisation, or The World Bank, and we must exert twice the effort to reach those heights.

However, there have been certain advantages in practice. I have had the opportunity to hold influential positions and participate in high-level summits early in my career. At the age of 26, I was entrusted with the responsibility of establishing the Lesotho Mission to the UN in Geneva.

• Why do you want to be the next Commonwealth Secretary-General?

Six outstanding Commonwealth Secretaries-General have demonstrated exceptional leadership by sustaining the Commonwealth through its unwavering provision of technical assistance and political support to its members, as enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter. They have set a high standard for the role, and it would be a great honour to be granted the opportunity to follow in their footsteps and continue their legacy of duty and excellence.

There is a general agreement amongst members that the election of Secretaries-General follows the principle of rotation among the five Commonwealth regions. In line with this tradition, Africa is now poised to present the Commonwealth its seventh Secretary-General and we hope that the principle of regional rotation in the Commonwealth Secretary-General election will be translated to the continent’s candidature in view of observing geographical diversity, and acknowledge the normative principle that Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa also deserve the opportunity to serve since the first African Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria, was from West Africa.

I am grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and member countries of Southern African Development Community (SADC), 11 of which are Commonwealth member countries – for endorsing me.

I bring to the position of Secretary-General over 25 years of extensive experience in managing international organisations, strong political skills gained as a Cabinet Minister, and a profound understanding of the Commonwealth and its realities. I pledge to uphold the values and principles that have guided the Commonwealth for decades and work closely with member states to enhance the resilience of their democratic institutions, upscale the capacity of the Secretariat, work with Commonwealth-accredited organisations, and develop qualitative human capital with the relevant skills for today’s realities.

If elected to the esteemed position of Secretary-General, I will commit to finish what was started and do more by prioritising three pillars to be delivered through cross-cutting themes and enablers, including strengthening the Secretariat.

• What are your main plans and priorities for the job of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth?

My main plans and priorities are to work under three pillars with cross-cutting themes and enablers and to reform the Secretariat.

Pillar 1 – Sustainable development - I will leverage partnership networks and the Commonwealth’s convening power to encourage increased investments in Green and Blue Economies across the Commonwealth. I will double support to member countries and mobilise increased resources to assist with access to the Climate Finance Access Hub. 33 of the world’s 42 small states are Commonwealth members. I will continue to campaign for special attention to their unique development challenges. Mobilise support for member states to undertake policy formulation, regulatory frameworks towards strengthening sustainability in natural resources management.

Pillar 2 – Inclusive growth - International trade – Unlocking the full potential of intra-Commonwealth trade, currently at US$566billion. Will improve intra-Commonwealth investment flows by mobilising extensive support to members to improve investment environment and policy predictability and administrative capacity.
Debt management – Will mobilize increased resources towards debt management support member states by enhancing the capacity. Reinvest in the utility of Meridian. Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) - The MSME sector provides almost 50% of the workforce and contributes 20%-50% of economic output. Will mobilise increased support to SMEs to enhance capacity to trade across the Commonwealth.

Pillar 3 – Governance - Democracy - Enhance whole of election cycle approach to include collaboration with regional organisations and strengthen participation of underrepresented groups in political processes in line with the political values of the Charter.
Human Rights - Advancing policy reform enforcement capacity, providing support to National Human Rights Organisations, addressing issues of inclusion, economic empowerment of women and preventing modern slavery.

Rule of Law - Enhance support for cyber security, anti-corruption and the judiciary to support member states to uphold constitutional values and democratic principles, and administration of justice.
Public Sector Reforms - Ensure more citizen-centric and responsive, deploy to support national priorities, and minimize duplication to ensure greater policy coherence.

Cross-cutting themes - All programme design and delivery to include youth, gender, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and marginalised communities to ensure enhanced opportunities and access to resources.

Enablers - Partnerships – Enhance collaboration with member states, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth of Learning, Accredited Organisations, International Organisations, Private Sector to align with Commonwealth Secretariat’s mandate to amplify impact.
Technology (Data, Innovation and AI) - Capitalize on digital innovation to address the current digital divide, advocate for data driven innovation and decision making, harness the use of AI to accelerate development, ensuring it is transparent, safe and ethical.

Strengthening the Secretariat - Structural Reforms to enhance equity and regional representation within the Commonwealth Secretariat by appointing three Deputy Secretaries-General from different regions in consultation with the Board of Governors.

A collaborative and needs assessment approach to Programme Delivery, informed by member states’ national priorities to ensure that planning aligns with the CHOGM mandate and design, and delivery is in consultation with the Board of Governors.

To enhance Transparency, Efficiency and Accountability, through a comprehensive review of the Secretariat’s financial, administrative and operational systems.

Financial reforms to ensure Sustainable Funding by enhancing the Secretariat’s capacity to mobilise resources, revisiting Abuja Guidelines and strengthening partnerships with Commonwealth of Learning, Commonwealth Foundation and the Public & Private Sector.

• What are the biggest challenges facing Commonwealth Parliaments and Parliamentarians?

Although some of the best practice in securing greater parliamentary representation for women is found in the Commonwealth, with member countries such as Rwanda having women’s representation at 61%, South Africa at 47% and Namibia at 44%, in some Commonwealth countries’ women’s representation is around 30%, including the UK and Guyana both at 35% and even lower in a number of countries, such as Malawi, where it is 23%, India and Zambia at 15%, Cyprus and Eswatini both at 14%, Maldives at 5%, Nigeria and Tonga both at 4%, and 2% women’s representation in both Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. These figures demonstrate that much more needs to be done to improve the representation of women in Parliament.

Related to this is the issue of online abuse towards female Parliamentarians, which is an area of growing concern. It acts as a barrier to women standing for election and an obstacle in achieving equal representation in politics.

The other challenge is the culture of institutional conservatism, highly pressured legislative programmes, staffing capacity and hesitation to activities that don’t relate to Parliament. Parliamentarians face the challenges of opinions that restrict their approach and style of engagement, their communications to citizens being excluded from Parliament and a general lack of interest from Parliamentarians. Hence the leadership must be strong and aim for public engagement. Commonwealth Parliaments must also collaborate, share knowledge and learn from each other. It is also important to promote a culture of openness, transparency and accessibility to citizens, and employ new technologies for engagement.

Commonwealth Parliaments must also further global commitments and address issues of climate security and help central and devolved governments work together on climate policy. Young Parliamentarians must be encouraged to be active in Parliament and advocate for youth.

• 60% of the Commonwealth’s population is aged under 30. How can the Commonwealth engage with more young people?

The Commonwealth has recently launched its 2023 version of the flagship ‘Global Youth Development Index’ which shows how countries are meeting the needs of young people in Health and Wellbeing, Education, Employment and Opportunity, Political and Civic Participation, Equality and Inclusion, and Peace and Security.

One of the key areas that the Commonwealth can engage the youth more is Employment and Opportunity. While the threat of technology and Artificial Intelligence, in particular, has been categorised as one of the potential global risks, it is also an opportunity to lower costs, make processes more effective and create a new market that can be exploited to create jobs for a growing youthful population. Investments in technology and innovation are crucial to provide the much-needed skills for a growing labour market.

It also important to increase the engagement of young people in Political and Civic Participation, as well and Peace and security.

• How can the Commonwealth provide leadership on the UN Sustainable Development Goals?

The Commonwealth is leading on SDG 13 (Climate Action) and on SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Commonwealth small states are progressing against SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), but there still needs to be progress towards SDG 1 (No Poverty). It is evident that countries must enhance their interconnected efforts towards achieving their SDG targets, while the international community must increase the provision and ease of access to resources for countries to reach their goals fairly. This is why the Commonwealth emphasises the importance of a comprehensive overhaul of the global financial system. By seeking to revamp the conventional rules and regulations governing the current financial structure to address the evolving challenges of a dynamic world, responding to this critical call will channel financial support towards climate initiatives and the realization of the SDGs.

• What do you think are the Commonwealth’s greatest challenges today?

The Commonwealth has a population of 2.3 billion, 60% of whom are aged 29 or under. Enormous opportunities exist for us to develop key services. I would pick out, given the age of Commonwealth members’ citizens, opportunities in education and economic development. We all want to improve opportunities for trade and investment for all countries threat on the investments we have made in strengthening democratic institutions both within and outside the Commonwealth.

In West Africa, for example, over the past 12 months we have seen the significant erosion of democratic institutions with coups in Mali, Guinea and Niger. Commonwealth member states in the region are impacted by this. When regional institutions are weakened, we see a spin off effect, and that must be managed. In Mozambique, armed radical groups threaten the security and stability of the country, and if that goes unchecked, it has the potential to undermine the entire region.

At a global level, developments in Ukraine have increased the cost of living in Commonwealth countries, like it has in all parts of the world. The threat to destabilise shipping lanes in the Middle East means the cost of imports and the costs of trade have increased. All this collectively represents a big challenge for the Commonwealth.

Secondly, there is an urgent need for Commonwealth members to get together and seek solutions for how to guarantee the financial sustainability of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Unless the Secretariat is viable and financially secure, it will not be able to deliver for member states. That is a big challenge that our members must deal with quite urgently.

Return to the blog series: 'The next Commonwealth Secretary-General?'

Follow the CPA on social media to continue the discussion.