No Portmore parish before local gov’t polls
Holness confirms legislation won’t be taken through Parliament before upcoming vote
Published:Thursday | January 18, 2024 | 12:14 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
In an apparent about-turn by the Andrew Holness administration, the prime minister yesterday announced that the Government will not proceed with efforts to name Portmore Jamaica’s 15th parish before the upcoming local government elections.
The decision marks a reversal from recent posturing from Cabinet member Everald Warmington, who had declared on a political platform late last year that the establishment of Portmore as a parish was expected to give the Government a political advantage in the region.
Yesterday, Holness clarified that while the legislation was ready for parliamentary consideration, it would not be passed until after the local government elections.
“Our bill is ready to go to Parliament. We were ready for a while now, but we will not take it to Parliament. We will probably table it, but we will not pass it,” Holness said.
He was addressing attendees during yesterday’s launch of the Portmore Resilience Park.
The prime minister’s comments followed criticism from Fitz Jackson, the member of parliament for South St.Catherine, who has argued that altering electoral boundaries without the input of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) would contradict constitutional norms.
Jackson, the recently appointed shadow minister without portfolio with special responsibility for affairs concerning Portmore, had threatened legal action if the Government went ahead with using its parliamentary majority to push the bill through the House of Representatives.
Seeking to address the concerns, Holness said the ECJ follows a standard process to evaluate constituency boundaries.
“Indeed, there is a standard process ... a routine process by the Electoral Commission where they look at constituencies and determine whether they fall below the minimum threshold,” he stated.
The prime minister said the Government’s intention to create a new political administration for Portmore is not driven by gaining a political advantage, but by the necessity for proper administration in a rapidly developing municipality.
He highlighted Negril in Westmoreland as one such area that has reached that threshold.
Jackson, responding to Holness’s comments, expressed satisfaction with the decision to halt the process.
“We have always maintained that the people should be involved in the process. So today is a good day for the people of Portmore. They have won,” he said.
In the meantime, Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas welcomed the additional time afforded by the prime minister’s decision. He said ongoing citizen consultations, which the municipality had initiated with the aim of involving the community in the decision-making process, would be allowed to be completed.
The Portmore Resilience Park is a climate-smart facility spanning 21.5 acres. With a total investment of $4.4 billion, the park is set to become a multifaceted recreational and wellness hub, addressing the community’s need for safe, well-built social spaces.
Holness sought to assure the residents that the Government was attuned to Portmore’s essential requirements, pointing to plans for a well-defined marketplace and ongoing initiatives for the construction of a type 5 health facility in Portmore.
Construction on the Resilience Park is scheduled to commence on February 5, 2024, with an expected completion date by September 2025, coinciding with the end of the five-year parliamentary term.
Resilience Park is a project of the Government of Jamaica through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and the Urban Development Corporation.