St Catherine Municipal Corporation votes to rename section of highway in honour of Portia Simpson Miller

The St Catherine Municipal Corporation yesterday passed a resolution calling for the naming of a portion of the North-South Highway in honour of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

The resolution, which was passed by 14 votes to 13, called for the naming of the leg of the highway from Mandela Highway in St Catherine to the border with St Ann as the Portia Simpson Miller Highway.

The opposition People's National Party has the majority in the local authority.

The vote came amid plans already in motion by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party government to rename the highway after former Prime Minister Edward Seaga.

It was highlighted in the resolution that Simpson Miller, Jamaica’s first female Prime Minister, was instrumental in negotiating the construction and funding of the highway with Chinese President Xi Jinping when she visited China in 2013. 

Following the passage of the resolution,Chairman of the municipal corporation Councillor Norman Scott said that Simpson Miller is the most deserving individual to have the highway named after her because of all that she has done to ensure its construction.  

Scott further argued that Simpson Miller was born and raised in the parish, not far from the highway itself.

He said immediate steps will be taken to carry out the wishes of the municipal corporation.

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