Dear Editor,
In response to a letter entitled "Portland ostracised", which was published in the Jamaica Observer of Thursday, April 25, I am proposing that we Portlanders start thinking seriously of seceding from the rest of Jamaica.
Portland, with a size of 814 square km and a population of 83,000, is almost twice the size of Barbados and has less than one-third the population of that country.
With a low population and increased productivity, Portlanders could have one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. We could increase this low population with retirees, highly skilled professionals and investors. We could develop the best tourism product in the Caribbean.
Portland has a marina and ports for cruise ships and commercial vessels. We could expand the current airfield at St Margaret's Bay to make it into an international airport.
We have beautiful rivers, falls, lagoons, lush green forests, parks, and one of the best coffees in the world. In addition, since the 1950s, more than 700 films have featured Portland.
We could combine all of these and more to attract more than three million tourists a year. Eventually, education could be free to all Portlanders up to the secondary level. We could promote family life and discourage materialism. We could have a very efficient public transportation system.
On the matter of crime, Portland already has some of the most honest and hard-working police in Jamaica. With better training, higher pay and better working conditions, Portland could have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Nothing in this letter is hard to achieve. Let us isolate ourselves from the rest of Jamaica and survive.
Howard Rennis
rehnis@msn.com
Independence for Portland
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In response to a letter entitled "Portland ostracised", which was published in the Jamaica Observer of Thursday, April 25, I am proposing that we Portlanders start thinking seriously of seceding from the rest of Jamaica.
Portland, with a size of 814 square km and a population of 83,000, is almost twice the size of Barbados and has less than one-third the population of that country.
With a low population and increased productivity, Portlanders could have one of the highest GDP per capita in the world. We could increase this low population with retirees, highly skilled professionals and investors. We could develop the best tourism product in the Caribbean.
Portland has a marina and ports for cruise ships and commercial vessels. We could expand the current airfield at St Margaret's Bay to make it into an international airport.
We have beautiful rivers, falls, lagoons, lush green forests, parks, and one of the best coffees in the world. In addition, since the 1950s, more than 700 films have featured Portland.
We could combine all of these and more to attract more than three million tourists a year. Eventually, education could be free to all Portlanders up to the secondary level. We could promote family life and discourage materialism. We could have a very efficient public transportation system.
On the matter of crime, Portland already has some of the most honest and hard-working police in Jamaica. With better training, higher pay and better working conditions, Portland could have one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Nothing in this letter is hard to achieve. Let us isolate ourselves from the rest of Jamaica and survive.
Howard Rennis
rehnis@msn.com
Independence for Portland
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