NEGRIL, Westmoreland — There are mixed views to a suggestion by Prime Minister Andrew Holness for Negril to become a parish. While some residents have accepted the idea, others have rejected it and proposed alternatives.

“Everybody in Negril that I have spoken to wants us to be a parish right now; they cannot wait! But we know it is a process and it is going to be ongoing,” president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce Elaine Allen Bradley told the Jamaica Observer when asked for her view.

“We love it and the people of Negril want it because we will be more effectively and efficiently managed, even if we have to start with an interim [measure] — a town manager that could manage the affairs of Negril,” she added.

However, such a suggestion has resulted in the question of to whom the manager would be answerable.

“I would like to say the chamber or the parish council [municipal corporation],” suggested Allen Bradley.

However, she pointed out that the latter could be an issue, based on current experience.

“If we say they are answerable to the parish council, which parish council? And, how effective they would be as a town manager if they are answerable to these parish councils? Because right now, none of the two parish councils [Hanover and Wedstmoreland] serve Negril well,” stated the chamber president.

There are sections of Negril in both Hanover and Westmoreland but residents have long complained that the local authorities for both parishes have been woefully lacking in the representation provided to the resort area.

Speaking at January’s official launch of the $4.4-billion Portmore Resilience Park, Holness said that along the lines of discussions about Portmore becoming Jamaica’s 15th parish, a similar consideration could be afforded to Negril.

“There is another area where its own administrative personality is emerging and which we will have to consider some change in how their affairs are administered, and that is Negril. You will understand that the town of Negril has grown; it has grown out of Westmoreland into Hanover and it is now creating a problem as to which municipality has charge over its development,” the prime minister said then.

Hanover, which is the county’s second smallest parish, was created in 1725 from sections of Westmoreland. Negril currently falls within the Hanover Western and Westmoreland Western constituencies.

President of the Negril Entertainment Association (NEA) Ryan Morrison is concerned about the ramifications of having Negril become a parish.

“I support municipality [status but] we can’t bother to cut up Jamaica into more parishes. It done small already and you have to look at the income generated from the parish rather than taking from it. Look how Negril stay. It is the main income earner of the parishes and it have the least amount of talk,” he argued.

He said residents are yearning for autonomy and some say in what happens to their town.

“Negril will be happy for any control they have because they are feeling defenceless and the place run down. It is like the people feeling helpless and they cannot do anything to save themselves. They have to be begging people who don’t live here, don’t care about here, who live in the next part of the city and are not in the town to see what is happening. That is a part of the frustration. People want the ability to be able to make decisions and changes,” the NEA president said.

“All they want to know is that they are responsible for their garbage, water, [or] whatever they want. They don’t want a man up by Hanover in the middle of Lucea talking about Negril when probably for one month they don’t come to Negril. A man living in Grange Hill, look how far he has to drive to come to Negril. So, he lives in Grange Hill and he stays in Grange Hill,” he added.

One resident with whom the Observer spoke with at the Plaza De Negril on Monday believes the suggestion of creating a new parish is not workable.

“We don’t have the development to have a parish. We don’t have the population and it [parish] is going to be too small. Let it stay as it is,” argued the man, who did not provide his name.

He agreed with the often-made compliant that though Negril has contributed significantly to the Jamaican economy, the town has received little benefit.

“We would like to see the place more developed. More commercial buildings like office buildings. Negril is basically hotels and restaurants. We don’t have any insurance buildings. We would want a tax office right here so that we can take care of our own affairs. We would also want a mayor’s office where we have a mayor and all of that,” argued the resident, who also suggested the need for factories, a community college and a high school to prevent brain drain.

Another resident, who is a bike taxi operator and gave his name as Romano, said the creation of a parish is not foremost on his mind. His concern is about access to piped water and other issues that directly impact his life.

“It does not matter. We just want more help from the State. Watch here, we have no road. If dem could also help the bike man dem so that dem can hustle; because sometimes when a bike man sees a police him have to move because him nuh have no licence,” he said.