Portmore is on the verge of becoming Jamaica’s 15th parish following the tabling of a bill to amend the Counties and Parishes Act by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Once approved by Parliament, the City Municipality of Portmore will officially attain parish status, marking a historic milestone as the first parish to be established in post-colonial Jamaica.
Under the proposed changes, the newly designated parish—Portmore—will include the Hellshire Hills and Goat Islands while excluding areas such as Lakes Pen, Grange Lane, Lime Tree Grove, and Quarry Hill. The capital of the parish will be Portmore, mirroring the structure of Kingston serving as both city and parish capital.
The City of Portmore will also encompass lands east of North Arscot, as well as key facilities including the municipal building, police station, Inland Revenue Department, and parts of Naggo Head and Braeton.
According to the Bill’s Objects and Reasons, the move aims to empower Portmore residents by strengthening their ability to influence local development. It also seeks to enhance the municipality’s lobbying capacity and grant it autonomy over resource management, which is currently overseen by St. Catherine, the parish to which Portmore presently belongs.
Election promise fulfilled
The push for Portmore’s parish status aligns with a long-standing election promise by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith previously highlighted that the vision for Portmore’s autonomy was first championed by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding but had not been realized.
“We are renewing that vision to ensure that Portmore, with its young, vibrant population, will have the opportunity to have its own municipal corporation so that it can collect its own property taxes and determine its own development plan,” Johnson-Smith stated previously.
Currently, Portmore is the only city in Jamaica with its own municipal council that operates independently from its parish’s local government. The JLP has argued that granting Portmore full parish status will allow it to receive its own share of parochial revenue funds and facilitate the development of key infrastructure, including a market, hospital, improved schools, water supply, and road networks.
The government intends to finalize the transition before the upcoming general elections, which are due by September this year.
