New US ambassador by latest September

Barring no congressional delays, a new United States ambassador to Jamaica could be in the island by next month. A worst-case scenario puts the deal-clincher at three months from now.

Jamaica's ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, told The Gleaner in response to queries on the matter that a career diplomat has been tipped to take the reins which were held by Brenda LaGrange Johnson, whose posting here ended January 2009.

According to Marks, the new US ambassador will once again be a woman, and that selection process is now at the White House. When signed off there, the nomination will go to Congress, where a formal announcement will be made.

If the process is not completed next month, the new ambassador should be here no later than September, Marks said.

Speculation about reasons for the long delay in selecting an ambassador has been rife, but Marks stressed that there is a backlog in the nomination process for federal and ambassadorial positions that has nothing to do with perceived strained relations between the two countries.

"So the ambassador to Jamaica is being fast-tracked above some 80 other countries (including Barbados and the Dominican Republic) that are still without a top US envoy since the Obama administration took office a year and a half ago," she said.