Prime Minister Patterson was sworn in for the third time. This is the first time one political party has managed to win the election three consecutive times. In his address, the PM said he would be willing to work with anyone who was dedicated to nation-building.

Published Wednesday, December 31, 1997

Patterson takes oath of unity

PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson yesterday called for unity and healing in the nation as he embarked on his third stint as prime minister of the country.

Speaking at King's House in St Andrew after he was sworn in as prime minister by Governor General Sir Howard Cooke and had taken the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office, Mr Patterson extended the olive branch to his detractors.

"It is not in my nature to pursue a path of confrontation, nor to bear a personal grudge. I once again offer, unconditionally, the hand of friendship and unity to anyone and everyone prepared to contribute to nation building," Mr Patterson said to the garnering of leaders of the Church, State, and civil society. Even as rain clouds loomed overhead on the cool evening, Mr Patterson acknowledged the daunting tasks that lay ahead for the nation. "The imperative of the moment requires us as a people to dig deep within ourselves and find new springs of love, creativity, and boldness," he said.

Mr Patterson, whose People's National Party (PNP) created history in becoming the first political party to win three consecutive terms in office, called on Jamaicans to join him in a prayer that "God will grant me the wisdom to discover the right, the courage to choose it, and the strength to make it endure".

Mr Patterson said his party's resounding triumph in the general election on December 18 was an endorsement for creating a just and equitable society, "rejecting indiscipline and all forms of anti-social behaviour", for growth in a stable economy, and for building a society that permits material and spiritual well-being.

The prime minister said that constitutional reform would be put "on the front burner" to address "fundamental issues of economic, social, cultural, and political rights".

He also said Local Government elections would be held "as soon as the Electoral Office has finished the necessary tidying up of the lists and the issuing of all identity cards".

Underscoring the importance of investment, Mr Patterson said the Government would seek to get "specific investment projects under way in reasonable time".

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