Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter
RESIDENTS OF the Port-more have now agreed to a two-month boycott of the Portmore toll bridge.
Last week, there were indica-tions that the residents would stay away from the six-lane thorough-fare for nine days.
But at a meeting yesterday, the residents decided that they would boycott the bridge until shortly before the reopening of schools in September.
In addition, they are indicating that their political representatives from the governing People's National Party could be affected in the next general elections.
"Sister P (Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller) says she must win the next election, well Portmore people have political and economic sense," said Andrea Barrett James, vice-president of the Portmore Pines Citizens' Association.
Her comments were met with shouts and cheers from more than 100 other residents gathered at the Portmore Lions' Club Civic Centre to discuss the toll issue.
On Friday, Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill announced non-frequent user rates of $60 for class-one vehicles, $100 for class-two vehicles and $200 for class-three vehicles.
STICKING TO MANDATE
Meanwhile, Yvonne McCormack, president of the Portmore Citizens' Advisory Council, has reiterated that the people of the community will be sticking to the mandate previously given to the Government.
"We will not be paying for the T-Tags (electronic tags)," she stated firmly.
According to Delroy Dobney, chairman for the Gregory Park Development Council, the developers must be made aware of the difficulties the Portmore citizens will encounter as a result of the toll imposition.
Lambert Brown, president of the University and Allied Workers Union, and a resident of Portmore since 1977, has pledged his support for the proposed boycott.
"The boycott needs to be successful so that multinational companies do not believe that the Jamaican people are for sale," he said, adding that communication on the toll issue between the Government and the people had been poor.
In the meantime, Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill will today report to Cabinet on the reactions of Portmore residents to the announced toll.
Yesterday, Mr. Pickersgill again insisted that the rates to use the Portmore Toll Bridge were reasonable and would be more cost effective than to use the alternative route via the Mandela Highway. "We have done the routes and we can say they will be no worse off," he told journalists at the Portmore Toll Plaza.
