KINGSTON, Jamaica — Portmore residents are currently staging a protest against the Government’s decision to make Portmore Jamaica’s 15th parish.

The bill, spearheaded by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and passed on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, has faced significant opposition from residents who claim that the Government did not consult them.

Disgruntled residents gathered along Dawkins Drive on Monday, holding placards that read, “Abuse of power, power grab alert”, “Shame, shame, justice for Portmore” and “Save our democracy, stand with Portmore”.

Portmore residents are protesting the Government’s decision to make Portmore Jamaica’s 15th parish. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Among the protesters was Member of Parliament for St Catherine Southern, Fitz Jackson, who told Observer Online that the government should allow the people to decide whether Portmore should transition to parish status.

“This morning is an occasion where the residents of Portmore have come to the streets to demonstrate that they are not going to sit down and allow the government to impose on them what they wish. They must listen to the people and let the people decide,” Jackson said.

Member of Parliament for St Catherine Southern, Fitz Jackson holds a placard during the protest along Dawkins Drive in Portmore, St Catherine. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

He continued, “We have a municipality in Portmore that was created by the residents through the Avera Citizens Association after consultations lasting over nine years to shape the special municipality in Portmore. A municipality that, in structure, is superior to what exists in the parishes that were created over 158 years ago. The new municipal structure that the people wanted, demanded, and got, allowed for them to directly elect their own mayor so that the mayor can be accountable to them. They demanded that the municipality they created should have non-political persons on the council to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the conduct of the municipality’s business.”

Jackson further accused the government of using Portmore’s parish status for political gain.

A resident of Portmore holds a placard that reads “Shame, shame, justice for Portmore”. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

“The government, through this parish boundary bill, is tearing that apart and ripping from the people of Portmore what they have struggled for. We are not standing by and allowing that to happen. This parish proposal is nothing but a fraud to allow them to gerrymander the political boundaries to create a JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) stronghold in Portmore.

“Let democracy prevail. Let the independence of the EOJ (Electoral Office of Jamaica) in setting political boundaries determine whatever the boundaries are. Not the Jamaica Labour Party, not the People’s National Party. Let the independent ECJ (Electoral Commission of Jamaica), EOJ, and electoral office determine what boundaries there must be. We will not allow the JLP to rip the country of our democracy,” Jackson said.