KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC—A government legislator declared on Thursday that he would renounce his citizenship in the United Kingdom
Matthew Samuda, the Minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, said he decided to renounce his British citizenship after carefully listening to recent public discourse concerning the issue of dual citizenship.
“I am advanced in the process of renouncing my British citizenship, which I acquired at birth,” the government senator said.
The issue of dual citizenship has been hotly debated since it became public knowledge that Mark Golding, the leader of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), is a citizen of Jamaica and the U.K.
Golding has faced calls to renounce his British citizenship to demonstrate his “firm commitment” to Jamaica and avoid conflict of interest if he became prime Minister.
However, he argues that there is no legal basis for him to renounce his status in the United Kingdom, as the Jamaican Constitution allows citizens of Commonwealth countries to sit in the parliament.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says that no person who wishes to be Jamaica’s ultimate leader should have citizenship of any other country.
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