Dear Editor,

Member of Parliament Andrew Wheatley has come from what could be described as his hiatus with a bang. He has spearheaded the proposal to make Portmore the 15th parish of Jamaica, which has been passed in the Lower House and will go to the Upper House and then to the Office of the Prime Minister to be ratified, as per the legislative process.

However, I think that naming Portmore a parish instead of a major city and a municipality for the time being is a bad move.

To name a new parish one has to be sure that it has the economic, industrial, and public infrastructure necessary to be self-functioning. It would need a local food market and a clearly defined commercial district.

But Portmore was originally planned as a primarily residential settlement for a workforce that services Kingston and gets most of its food and consumer goods from that location or the mostly mercantile economy of Spanish Town, with a few amenities within Portmore.

One would also have to expand the housing stock to make sure that businesses in Portmore will have access to a pool of workers from which to hire rather than from other areas, thereby worsening the traffic problem, increasing transport costs, and burdening the public transport system.

Speaking of traffic problems, roadworks have to be done by the municipal corporation to expand the carrying capacity of the roads to negate the effects of gridlock, a project that may consume millions of tax dollars. Furthermore, the parish will need a hospital and other core health infrastructure.

And, lastly, how will the new municipal corporation be configured? Will there be new constituencies, divisions, and representatives for the citizens?

How will this affect the municipal council’s finances? Will they have the staff, resources, and teeth to regulate housing developments so that it doesn’t resemble the free for all that is happening in Kingston, where high-rise buildings are being allowed in areas comprising mainly single-family homes?

And to improve the housing stock to service its local economy and impending demand for real estate, will it loosen restrictive covenants on title deeds to incentivise multi-storey residential and commercial spaces or will it employ mixed-use developments?

Are the current local authorities adequate enough to prevent speculative developments that haven’t got the proper permissions or breach zoning laws and restrictive covenants? And will there be new zoning laws?

These are all practical considerations for making Portmore a parish that would have economic and social consequences for the citizens and businesses that reside there. However, it seems no one is thinking about such long-term issues, and the concern is focused solely on the short-term symbolism of making Portmore a 15th parish.

Marcus White

whitemarc918@gmail.com