EDITORIAL - Advice for PM-designate

In a matter of days, Mrs Portia Simpson Miller will take the oath as prime minister after her party's emphatic victory in last week's general election, winning two-thirds of the seats in the 63-member House of Representatives.

It is probably too late, and more likely impossible, to dissuade her from a large and lavish swearing-in ceremony at King's House, such as she had in 2006 to begin her first stint as PM and as was the case with Mr Bruce Golding and Mr Andrew Holness.

But perchance she might be persuaded, we would suggest that Mrs Simpson Miller take the oath at a small ceremony in the private offices of the governor general, accompanied by immediate family and her closest advisers/ministers.

This approach would be symbolic of the seriousness of the times and the fact that her administration, with a tough job ahead, is hitting the ground running and won't be detained by pomp and ceremony. The Government would also save a little cash and precious man-hours that would be expended by the public officials who would manage the function.

If Mrs Simpson Miller does not follow our preferred format, we offer an alternative: use it as a sort of working occasion. She should forget the grandiose speech, make a short pledge on the quality of governance and give a bulleted outline of specific tasks to be undertaken by her Government over the next six months.

The whole affair would be over in half an hour and people would leave King's House armed with an embellishment of Mrs Simpson Miller's victory-speech pledge to be open and frank with Jamaicans, and specific targets with which to hold the Government to account.

We have another piece of advice for Mrs Simpson Miller. She should resist the temptation to reward with Cabinet and other executive posts on the exclusive basis of loyalty, seniority, or prior experience in Government. Indeed, she should maintain a deep parliamentary backbench, populated by far more than a handful of the latter, some of whom have little to offer to the resolution of the difficult issues facing the country, including the management of the debt, the overhaul of the bureaucracy, pension and tax reform, and reducing energy costs.

Expressed differently, Mrs Simpson Miller should name a tight Cabinet with a few junior ministers and have them scour the public and private sectors for the requisite talent to properly manage the country's affairs.