Double honour for Portia

The Government on Tuesday enshrined the legacy of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller by naming the Ministry of Labour and Social Security headquarters in the capital city in her honour and announcing that the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital now being built in St James will also carry her name.

The twin tributes crown a long and distinguished public service career for Simpson Miller, who shattered a major political barrier in 2006 when she became the first woman to lead the People’s National Party (PNP) and was subsequently sworn in as Jamaica’s seventh head of Government, serving from 2006 to 2007 and 2012 to 2016.

“It was always the intent, and I expressed that directly to family, and internally we have also discussed it, and I may even have said it in passing, that the hospital should be named… in her honour,” Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said.

“… It is only the right thing to do, it’s appropriate,” he added in his address at the naming and dedication ceremony of the labour and social security building at 1F North Street, downtown Kingston.

Pointing to Simpson Miller’s tenacity and dedication as a nation-builder, Holness noted that it was through her lobbying and negotiations in 2014 with the Chinese Government that the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital was able to secure critical support towards it becoming a reality.

The Western Children and Adolescent Hospital, located on the same premises as Cornwall Regional Hospital, is set to be an eight-floor complex offering 220 beds, a 60-room staff residential facility, and modern operating theatres.

It will also offer 17 specialities and sub-specialities, including general paediatric and adolescent medicine, neonatology, paediatric cardiology, critical care and is expected to be completed within the current fiscal year.

On Tuesday, Holness also assured Jamaicans that Portia Simpson Miller Square in St Andrew — where highway overpasses were erected — would retain its name. He explained that the sign bearing her name was removed temporarily to facilitate work on the overpasses and would be reinstalled.

“We actually started some work to fix up underneath the overpasses and to paint it to make it look appropriate and we will continue that, and at the right time we will rename that entire area between the overpass and the underpass — we’re trying to figure out if it should be the ‘Portia Simpson Miller Overpasses — but we will find the right and appropriate way to name it,” he said.

Addressing the ceremony before Holness, Opposition Leader and PNP President Mark Golding said he was pleased and proud to witness Simpson Miller being celebrated, noting that she was a trailblazer and a force to be reckoned with.

“Portia Simpson Miller, of course, became Jamaica’s first female prime minister. She became the first president of the People’s National Party who was a woman, so her place in our history is unique and unchallengeable. Somebody who has achieved those significant milestones, the naming of this building after her is an important step in the right direction. She is worthy of much more, and I am sure there will be much more to come in the future,” said Golding.

He also highlighted her 11-year tenure as the minister of labour, noting that she was especially dedicated to the overseas work programme and ensured that every Jamaican worker was treated with dignity and respect. As such, naming the Ministry of Labour and Social Security building in her honour was only fitting.

“Big up, Sister P, your legacy is solid and your delivery for Jamaica deserves every accolade,” Golding said.

Sister P is the name given to Simpson Miller by her supporters and admirers.

“Today we have to honour her and bless her. She’s not able to be with us, which is unfortunate, but she is deserving, as I have said, of every accolade and honour that could be bestowed on her,” Golding added.

In a later news release he described Simpson Miller as a transformational national leader whose contribution to Jamaica spans labour, tourism, social development, economic reform, and public infrastructure.

Simpson Miller’s grand niece Alisa Magnus, who represented her at the naming ceremony, shared that the occasion was beyond what her words could encapsulate.

“I am an extremely proud niece of a most beloved aunty, who believes wholeheartedly that she is worth being celebrated and honoured in the way that she is being done today,” said Magnus.

As she recounted how her aunt served as politician, leader, and second mother to her, Magnus offered to guests at the ceremony advice she felt would have been extended by the former prime minister if she were present at the proceedings.

“Always put country above self, always put neighbour above self, work as unto the Lord. The pleasure of a remarkable journey was mine,” Magnus said.

She also reminded the guests that Simpson Miller would end her speeches saying, “Thank you, I love you, God bless you, and God bless Jamaica, land we love.”

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness (second right), as well as Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr, and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange (second left) exchange pleasantries with Alisa Magnus, grand niece of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Tuesday at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security building which has been renamed in Simpson Miller‘s honour. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)