By Robert A Emmanuel
It has been nearly a year since Governor General Sir Rodney Williams appointed Kiz Johnson as his representative in Parliament, replacing former independent Senator Bakesha Francis-James.
Observer spoke to Senator Johnson for a look back at her year in office and what her plans are for 2024 as she continues to serve in the Senate.
“I’ve been having a great time as a senator, I have thoroughly enjoyed the role as it has allowed me to immerse myself into society, helping others and to serve at the highest level,” she explained.
Among her top memories for her first year in office were travelling to the coronation of King Charles III—the first time in nearly 70 years that a British monarch had been crowned since Queen Elizabeth II who reigned over the United Kingdom from 1953 to 2022.
Senator Johnson stood alongside various Commonwealth nations to witness the once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Additionally, the independent senator spoke about her visit to China with the Caribbean Women’s Federation to discuss and learn about the empowerment of women in Chinese society as well as a local initiative to bring together various organisations.
“I also had the opportunity to be part of a Commonwealth project under a themed event called ‘Youth Flow’ where, for the very first time, I was part of an initiative which opened up the doors of the Government House to a number of social clubs in Antigua and Barbuda,” she noted.
During the recent 2024 budget debate, Senator Johnson spoke directly to government senators about various societal issues—homelessness, gender-based violence and education.
In 2024, Senator Johnson said these are some of the top priorities she hopes to address as the Governor General’s representative.
“While our country is thriving economically based on the ECCB report, my plan for my senatorial role this year will focus on the intangibles, so for one, I will continue to advocate for the pursuit of education and lifelong learning.
“Second, my focus will be a call for adults in our society to become [positive] mentors for young people and I’ve immersed myself into the Newfield Primary School which my son attends as I am the president of the PTA there,” she said.
She noted that she planned to be part of a programme at the Department of Gender Affairs to educate young women on gender-based violence and how to navigate issues surrounding the topic.
Calling for an end to vagrancy and homelessness, Senator Johnson noted that she planned to meet with a key stakeholder in society to help provide a solution to this issue.
“I think all of the critical stakeholders, which will be too numerous to mention, need to come on board to collaborate and come up with a comprehensive programme, tailor-made for this issue.
“It’s not only about feeding them and having them return to the street; it’s about the mental care, providing medication, providing food, a permanent residency, and providing activities that would somehow help them to become better, and in many cases, I’m hoping that they are not gone too far, that they cannot be rehabilitated to the point where they can return to society,” she said.
Observer also sought her opinion on Cabinet’s commissioning of a committee to look into the effects of marijuana on young people.
“I am not a medical professional, nor am I an expert in this area but I do see – you would be blind if you’re not looking around and recognising that there are young men on the street who publicly use marijuana, and so I do not particularly have the numbers to say – but it just looks and it appears that there has been somewhat an abuse of this [substance].
“So, I will support the government’s stance to put a committee in place, and I hope that that committee will be able to bring back the numbers, not just feelings and thoughts and observations,” she added.
