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Many members of the Opposition Folks’s Nationwide Social gathering (PNP) and residents took to the streets to proceed to protest the federal government’s determination to make Portmore Jamaica’s fifteenth parish.
The demonstration triggered a visitors snarl alongside Dawkins Drive, disrupting entry to the toll street.
Among the many protest leaders had been Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas, Spanish City Mayor Norman Scott, PNP spokesman on Portmore affairs Fitz Jackson, and several other councillors from each municipalities.
Protesters, armed with placards, chanted slogans resembling “No session, no parish,” voicing their frustration over what they are saying is an absence of public engagement within the decision-making course of.
On February 11, the federal government, leveraging its parliamentary majority, handed a invoice to amend the Counties and Parishes Act of 1867 to ascertain Portmore as Jamaica’s latest parish. The invoice now strikes to the Senate for approval earlier than changing into legislation.
This marks the primary time in 150 years {that a} new parish has been created in Jamaica, a transfer that has sparked heated debate amongst residents and native officers. Whereas the federal government argues that parish standing will present better autonomy and sources for Portmore, critics insist the choice ought to have concerned extra public session.
As tensions rise, all eyes are on the Senate’s subsequent transfer and whether or not continued opposition from residents and PNP leaders will affect the ultimate final result.
– Ruddy Mathison
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