Address: Installation of Dr Patrick Allen as GG of Jamaica Feb 26, 2008

ADDRESS BY

PRIME MINISTER

HON. BRUCE GOLDING, M.P.

AT

INSTALLATION OF DR. PATRICK ALLEN, CD

AS

GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF JAMAICA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009

For the fifth time since independence, we have witnessed the installation of a new Governor-General. It is more than just a symbolic occasion because the office of Governor-General is more than just a symbolic position.

True, the Governor-General is the representative of the Queen and will continue so to be until we have changed the Constitution to make Jamaica a Republic within the Commonwealth with a President who symbolizes and embodies the sovereignty of Jamaica. That is something on which both Government and Opposition concur but it awaits the approval of the people by way of a referendum.

Our Governor-General serves as an icon of national unity, someone who stands above partisan and sectoral differences, someone who embraces the entire nation and whom the entire nation can embrace. It is a tradition established by our first Governor-General, the late Sir Clifford Clarence Campbell. It is a tradition that has been followed by all succeeding Governors-General. Jamaica is justly proud of them, the tradition they have entrenched and the high standards they have established.

But the Governor-General of Jamaica or the President of Jamaica, when that constitutional amendment is made, is no figurehead. By both enactment and convention, the office of Governor-General has been accorded certain important functions beyond those that are defined in the Constitution and the office has assumed an ever-increasing role in the life of our country and in the management of its affairs.

Over the last 30 years, we have invested the Governor-General with discretionary, executive authority in a number of sensitive areas of national life where impartiality and transparency are of paramount importance. We have placed in his hands final determination in the appointment of statutory authorities including the Electoral Commission, Contractor-General, Integrity Commission, Corruption Prevention Commission, Police Public Complaints Authority, Broadcasting Commission, Political Ombudsman, Public Defender and the Appeals Tribunal under the Access to Information Act.

It is intended that the new Independent Commission of Investigations on which Parliament is currently deliberating will be treated similarly. This practice of relying on the judgment of the Governor-General in sensitive decision-making is a significant innovation toward good governance that is unknown to most other Commonwealth jurisdictions but an innovation that has served Jamaica well and is a further illustration of the political maturity of our nation.

The choice of the person to occupy the post of Governor-General is, therefore, a decision of great weight and importance, one that must be made after the most careful consideration and in the interest of strengthening our system of government.

The choice of Professor Kenneth Hall was a good choice. He has been an excellent Governor-General and he has served his country well. I regret that circumstances have impelled him to relinquish the post after only three years in office. He and I have had an excellent relationship and I thank him for that. I have enjoyed our monthly meetings in which, as I am required to do by the Constitution, I have briefed him on the conduct of the government. I have valued highly the opinions he so freely shared with me and the advice he was always willing to offer. He has carried out his duties with dignity, aplomb and a profound understanding of the important role that the office of Governor-General plays in national life.

Lady Hall has been exemplary in her support of Sir Kenneth, the graciousness that she has infused in Kings House and the valuable work that she has spearheaded in so many good causes. We extend our love and best wishes to them both and assure them that the nation will forever remain in their debt.

The choice of Dr. Patrick Allen as the new Governor-General is a good one. He will make a worthy successor to Sir Kenneth and I welcome his appointment. From his humble beginnings in the rural district of Fruitful Vale in Portland, through his years in the schoolroom at Hillside and Robins Bay in St. Mary, to his work as a Pastor in St. Catherine and Clarendon, Dr. Allen rose to the pinnacle of leadership of the West Indies Union of Seventh Day Adventists with responsibility for Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. His record of service, inspiring leadership and compassion-are an example to all of us.

Dr. Allen brings to his office a lifetime of service to the people of Jamaica. He brings a reputation for integrity and impartiality. He brings, as well, a moral authority which will guide him in the leadership he is called to provide and the decisions he will be called upon to make. He will have the support of a loving wife of 34 years and a family of three children. I am confident that he will have the support of the people of Jamaica.

His appointment is a testimony to the pluralistic, multi-denominational character of our society and reflects the true spirit and hope of our nation that anyone, regardless of colour, class or creed and however humble one's beginnings, can rise to occupy the highest office in our land.

May God gird him for the responsibilities we have asked him to bear. May God continue to bless him and his family as they are called to serve the nation in this important role and may God continue to bless the people of Jamaica.