Portia targets crime
March 31, 2006
Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller was yesterday sworn-in as Jamaica's first woman prime minister and immediately pledged to advance human rights and individual liberty, and to work with the Opposition to eradicate crime, widely perceived as the nation's most pressing problem.
Simpson Miller, 60, also pledged to "work tirelessly" to rid the country of corruption and extortion and to create the conditions for employment opportunities and wealth creation.
She portrayed her achievement as a "true manifestation of the Jamaican dream" and suggested that a spirit of hope was dominant at yesterday's swearing-in at King's House, framing her speech under the theme of unity and co-operation.
The new prime minister also promised to:
. keep hope alive
. recapture the nation's cultural roots in terms of traditional courtesy, decency and good manners
. break the power of criminals and restore power to communities and
. launch a new era of cooperation with the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
But, even as the newly appointed prime minister was being sworn-in the theme of unity was already under threat, as Opposition Leader Bruce Golding and his wife were missing from the proceedings, having left King's House prematurely after failing to secure seats among the thousands of guests who filled virtually every seat on the lawn.
The former opposition leader, Edward Seaga and his wife Carla, remained to the end as they were seated in the front row beside the visiting leaders from Caricom and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
Dressed in a champagne-coloured suit, Simpson Miller smiled broadly as Governor-General Kenneth Hall hailed her formally as prime minister. The announcement was greeted by a deafening roar from the large crowd, which took up every square inch of the lush, green lawn.
None of the newly elected female leaders from around the world, including Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Chile's Michelle Bachelet, who were listed among possible guests, were present. But the Caribbean Community (Caricom) was well represented by prime ministers Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, Owen Arthur of Barbados and Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines. A US congressional team and chief minister Michael Misick of the Turks and Caicos Islands also attended.
Governor-General Hall called the event the "most momentous transition in our nation's history" and suggested that it should be regarded as a "defining moment".
Former Prime Minister Patterson said that he was particularly gratified that the country has experienced "a seamless and transparent" leadership change which had enhanced "the best and most wholesome of our Jamaican political traditions"....
Author: Balford Henry
Source: Jamaica Observer
