Yesterday's swearing-in ceremony of Bruce Golding as Jamaica's eighth Prime Minister at King's House was conducted with the dignity, decorum and simplicity befitting the occasion.

The speech by Mr. Golding was as eloquent as it was filled with pathos. In reiterating his vision of what Jamaica can become, Mr. Golding itemised some of the social and economic dysfunctions afflicting the country, especially its youth, and stating his government's commitment to addressing these. We wish him well for his success would be Jamaica's.

Indeed, as Mr. Golding assumes the responsibility of steering the ship of state, he does so with a Herculean task ahead of him. The mountain of debt and the constraints on the national budget do not allow him much room to manoeuvre.

He has, however, posited that some of the issues to be tackled require more political will than financial largesse. He is correct. It is now up to him and his government to put words into action.

As a first step, Mr. Golding said he would be appealing to Jamaicans to pool resources into a national effort to continue the clean-up of damage and debris left by Hurricane Dean. This is one task that should not require any great deliberation, save and except to work out some of the logistics of garbage removal and disposal.

Clearly, Mr. Golding, having been through the crucible of personal trial and vilification, has refined his own vision and paradigm for a new political order. His emphasis that Jamaica belongs to no one set of partisans, ideologues, ethnic groups of whatever class or financial status is one that needs to reach into the psyche of a lot more of our people. Many are clearly not ready to share in that paradigm. But we had better learn to appreciate this fact or we all suffer together.

The new Prime Minister understands, we are sure, that he will be held accountable for his stated commitment to a government of transparency and reduced corruption. Of course, his vision for a stronger role for the Opposition in Parliament to play a more forceful watchdogrole on government is somewhat idealistic.

It assumes that whoever forms an Opposition in Parliament will be more concerned with addressing national concerns over partisan interest.

Time will prove how well this concept works in the current scenario and further, if and when the Jamaica Labour Party itself reverts to being the Opposition sometime in the future.

Quite apart from any checks imposed on his administration by the close results of the recent elections, the realities of the country's finances and the global marketplace require sober and focused governance.

Mr. Golding and his team have their work cut out for them. Jamaicans, inclined to be impatient at the best of times, are probably less likely to cut him much slack.

The promises made on the campaign trail an expectations among those who voted for a change in the country's direction mean that he will be expected to start delivering on his commitments, and soon. Now the real work begins.