By Andrew Green, Staff Reporter 
Knight
Gaborone, BOTSWANA:
MINISTER OF Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight, says discussions have started with the South African Government to establish a mission there.
He was talking to members of the small Jamaican community in the Southern African country of Botswana who said they had problems getting passports for their children and renewing passports. They had an impromptu meeting with the Minister on Wednesday while he was attending the ACP Council of Ministers summit in Gaborone, the Botswana capital.
"We really have to get some mission to South Africa," Minister Knight said. "We have begun talks with them."
The closest Jamaican mission to its citizens in Southern Africa is in Nigeria, said Martin Linton, a Botswana resident. He said there is an embassy in London, but formal representation is out of Brussels.
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION
"A safe bet is that there are 100 Jamaicans in Botswana," Mr. Linton said. "I think they need some form of diplomatic representation in South Africa because a lot of us live over there."
South Africa, the dominant economy in the region, is the neighbour of Botswana.
"We do have difficulties which could be eased if we had closer diplomatic representation," Mr. Linton said. It was particularly difficult for Jamaican children born in Botswana, since they were not entitled to a Botswana passport and so had to get their passports through diplomatic representatives thousands of miles away.
South Africa established diplomatic relations with Jamaica after the end of apartheid and now has an embassy in the island. "The South Africans are in fact expecting us to establish a mission," Mr. Knight said. "I can't tell you it will happen overnight, but I can tell you we are going to work towards it." But an honorary consul can be appointed to ease the problems being experienced, the Minister said. An unpaid position, the consul would assist with issues such as getting passports.
"If the community comes together and recommends someone to be that honorary consul, then we could work something out in a flash," Minister Knight said. "The ambassador in Brussels would have to do some checks before it comes directly to my desk. It would be left to me to act quickly and in the circumstances, I would."
