Opposition calls for gov't to halt Portmore parish plans

By Nakinskie Robinson    

 

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has demanded an immediate cessation of all efforts to make Portmore a parish.

 

In a letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, dated November 20, Mr. Golding said it was necessary that the process be halted, in light of pronouncements from Member of Parliament for South Western St. Catherine Everald Warmington.

 

On November 12, Minister Warmington said the boundary shift would favour the Jamaica Labour Party.

 

The opposition's letter argued that any manipulative tinkering of political boundaries, as articulated by Minister Warmington, with the apparent support of Cabinet, will leave an ugly stain on the country's image locally and internationally.

 

He said any plan to have Portmore become the fifteenth parish must include consultation with residents within the parish. 

 

"The government may commence broad-based consultations with the leadership of Portmore at all levels, along with the residents at the community level, to arrive at any modifications of the present structure, its boundaries, and any other parameters that they may deem appropriate. Such contemplations would not exclude the possibility of Portmore becoming a parish," he asserted. 

 

He said the opposition remains very concerned about any changes in parish boundaries that will benefit the governing party, "thus emasculating the fundamental spirit and intent underpinning the independent Electoral Commission of Jamaica, and indeed the provisions of the Representation of the People's Act." 

 

Mr. Golding argued that it had long been evident to the opposition, that the government's intent to convert the municipality to a parish was driven by a self-serving desire to secure political control and to separate the people of Portmore from the rest of St. Catherine. 

 

Meanwhile, the Opposition Leader said over a month later, he is yet to receive a response from Prime Minister Andrew Holness to his letter outlining the opposition's concerns.

 

"I am disappointed but not surprised that the Prime Minister has neglected to reply to my letter. It's not the first time that that has happened. I hope that after the Christmas season, I will receive a fulsome response to the concerns I have raised in my letter to him," he said.