Most Jamaicans would be surprised to know that Portmore’s history dates back as far as 900 AD, or to the story of the country’s first inhabitants, the Tainos.

There is still evidence of Taino presence at places like Port Henderson, Hellshire and Naggo Head areas up to today. But, after the country was declared a Spanish colony in 1494, the Spaniards made life hell for them, resulting in the decimation of the original inhabitants.

It was the wealthy Matalon family who, having been successful in other entrepreneurial ventures, took the decision to enter the mass housing market through its company, WIHCON, and chose the area as the site for the experiment which eventually resulted in the development of the largest housing settlement in the English-speaking Caribbean and, which is now set to become Jamaica’s 15th parish.

Parliament finally settled on the promotion of the dormitory community on Tuesday, when by a loud and decisive voice count in the House of Representatives, the Government MPs drowned out any opposition to the idea from the other side.

Chairman of the joint select committee of both Houses of Parliament, which reviewed the decision, Dr Andrew Wheatley, expects that the report will reach the Cabinet within weeks, and will trigger the process of drafting a Bill, through the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.

After the draft is completed, the Cabinet’s Legislative Committee will need to approve the Bill and have it tabled in the House of Representatives by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie for debating and approval.

“After 60 years of Independence, it is only fitting that we should emancipate the people living in Portmore and give them full autonomy to make decisions pertinent to themselves and the governance of the area,” he said.

Wheatley, who currently represents St Catherine South Central in the House of Representatives and once represented the Portmore municipal division of Naggo Head, also served as mayor and chairman of the wider St Catherine Municipal Council, from which the Government is seeking to detach Portmore, for six years.

In the meantime, he denied suggestions that the more than 200,000 residents of the community were not given an ample opportunity to air their concerns, and are still unclear about the benefits of becoming its own parish.

“During the deliberations, we thought that it was best to ensure that we get as much input from persons living in Portmore, or outside of Portmore, or whether you live inside or outside of Jamaica,” said Wheatley.

But Opposition MP Fitz Jackson, who represents St Catherine Southern constituency where Wheatley lives, has insisted that the consultations were limited, and that meetings of the committee were held during the summer break for parliamentarians, after it began sitting late in 2020.

He also insisted that, in addition, the practice of getting submissions from a number of agencies and for the committee to listen to verbal submissions and read written presentations, which would lead to the development of a matrix, were missing in some cases.

Jackson’s fellow Opposition members did not raise much of a noise about the claims, during the process, or contributed to the debate. However, the Opposition refused to sign off on the full report from the committee, at the end of that part of the process, which was signed by Government members and tabled. Instead, they tabled a minority report, which conflicted with some of the positions taken by the rest of the committee.

Wheatley, on the other hand, had the full support of Government members, including his fellow two Portmore MPs – Alando Terrelonge (St Catherine East Central ) and newcomer Robert Miller (St Catherine South Eastern).

Terrelonge, who is the minister of state in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, questioned, “why would anyone oppose the formation of Portmore as the 15th parish?”

He said the question led to the conclusion that the Parliament of Jamaica could only be divided on such an important matter on the grounds of politics.

“It is time we stop playing politics with the lives of the people of Jamaica, and in particular with the residents of Portmore,” the second-term MP said, noting that discussions on whether the community should become a parish actually began in 2003 under a People’s National Party Administration.

“In discussing whether Portmore will become a parish, it is important that the parish of Portmore will not be stuck in the pipeline of neglect and poverty,” Terrelonge argued.

“The people of Portmore want parish status. We have made several consultations and in fact, all of the consultations showed a majority view that Portmore should become a parish. More than 20 district groups wanted Portmore to become a parish and only five disagreed,” he said.

Miller, a first-time MP representing upscale areas of Portmore, including Edgewater and Garveymeade, said he has had many discussions with his constituents and other Portmore residents who had convinced him that they wanted to become part of a parish.

“They want Portmore to be the first parish that we select as a people, in this our 60th jubilee year,” he said.

“It is time for the people of Portmore to get their own independence, and run their own state of affairs. Now is the time,” he said.