Thousands Turn out for Swearing-in Ceremony

Thousands of Jamaicans turned out at King’s House on (Sept. 11) for the swearing-in ceremony for Orette Bruce Golding, as the eighth Prime Minister of Jamaica.
The ceremony began at 3:30 p.m. with a musical prelude by the Jamaica Military Band, and as 4:00 p.m. approached, Mr. Golding and wife Lorna Golding proceeded to the platform to loud cheers and applause from the capacity crowd, which included former prime ministers, CARICOM Heads of Government, members of the judiciary, the diplomatic corps, senior public servants, party supporters, family, friends and other members of the public.
They were followed by Their Excellencies, the Most Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall and Mrs. Holding Hall, accompanied by Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin; Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas; and the Governor-General’s Aide-de-Camp, Samuel Ellis.
After prayers from Suffragan Bishop of Kingston, the Right Rev. Dr. Robert Thompson, Professor Hall delivered his welcome address in which he congratulated Mr. Golding and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for having secured the mandate of the people of Jamaica to guide the administration of the country for the next five years.
He said that Jamaicans are fortunate to live in a country in which its founding fathers and national heroes “granted us the franchise and bequeathed us other fundamental rights and privileges such as freedom of speech and the opportunity to undertake civic responsibilities, so that as citizens in a developing nation, we can select our leaders through a democratic vote”.
The Governor-General said it is important to continue to hold steadfast to these rights as the country goes forward under a new administration.
“As Jamaicans, we have a golden opportunity to build on the successes that have already been achieved by successive governments in our 45 years of national independence,” he told the audience.
The Governor-General added that, “it is through diligent and proper planning that we can marshal our resources to create unlimited opportunities for growth. If we are to achieve our objective of attaining first-world status, we must strive even harder to build schools, educate our people, create quality health systems, provide a viable business climate, forge unique trade and development alliances at the regional and international levels in order to strengthen our economy, and provide a quality society, which will enhance our moral and social fabric, and ensure continued improvement in the lifestyle and well-being of our people”.
Over the past 30 years, Mr. Golding has been actively involved in nation building through his positions as a political leader, Member of Parliament, a member of the Senate and a Minister of Government.
Among the thousands who attended the ceremony, which was presided over by Professor Hall were: former Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke; outgoing Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller; former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson; former Leader of the Opposition, Edward Seaga and wife Carla; Chief Justice Zalia McCalla; President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Seymour Panton; Glynn Manley; Professor Denise Eldemire Shearer; Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, Owen Arthur; Secretary General of CARICOM; Dr. Edwin Carrington; Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Senator Arnold Piggot; Vice-President of the Council of the State of the Republic of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez accompanied by Ambassador Humberto Rivero,; Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Michael Misick; and representatives of the Nation of Islam, Ministers Richard Muhammad, Carlos Muhammad, and Hugh Muhammad.