Nekeisha Burchell cooking up big plans for South St James

For Nekeisha Burchell, South St James is not just a constituency, it's home, and she is fully invested in the fight to make it better.

The People's National Party (PNP) standard-bearer for the constituency was recently the guest on THE STAR's Fireside Chat, where she tested her cooking skills over an open flame on the Reefs Farm in Bottom Pastures, Maroon Town. With workers gathered around, Burchell stirred up a pot of brown stew chicken, curry chicken, and her favourite - saltfish served alongside roast yam and cocoa.

Though she joked that she doesn't cook often, she admitted that her heart (and her taste buds) belong to saltfish and tin mackerel.

"You can ketch me wid that anytime," she laughed. "Growing up poor in rural Jamaica, sometimes dinner was just tomato fried down with onion and poured over yam. That was the meat. That's why I understand the struggles my people face."

She recalled her first disaster in the kitchen, when her love for cornmeal porridge clashed with inexperience.

"The first time I tried to make it, it lump up pon me. I put way too much cornmeal in the pot, and my mother had to come separate it with water and a spoon. Lesson learnt!" she said, still laughing at the memory.

But laughter quickly gave way to reflection when she was asked whether the heat of the kitchen compares to the heat of politics.

"In the kitchen, if you get burned, you go doctor. In politics, the words cut deeper. But mi grow up in hot kitchen, so mi can deal with the hot politics too," she said.

Burchell has been working behind the scenes in politics for more than 15 years, first as political assistant to Peter Bunting when he was PNP general secretary, and later as his adviser when he served as minister of national security. But it was the call from South St James that pulled her centrestage.

"The people said, 'Come back home, we need you,'" Burchell said. "I never measure myself against the current MP, because if I do, I'll underperform. The bar too low. Instead, I look at leaders like [former Prime Minister] Portia Simpson Miller, women from humble beginnings who fought for the poor. That's the track record I want to live up to."

Her plan is wrapped up in what she calls her 'HEART' vision, which stands for Heritage, Education, Agriculture, Roads, and Technology. She wants to position South St James as a model for rural development, with proper roads, reliable access to water, and investment in farming, so women don't have to haul heavy hampers down bad tracks. She also dreams of packaging the parish's rich history, from National Hero Sam Sharpe's birthplace in Catadupa to Flagstaff, one of the island's oldest Maroon settlements, into tourism products that can earn money for locals.

"We have the heritage, the history, and the hard-working people. I want to create trails, bike routes, cultural tours, so visitors can spend money here and the people can benefit. Invest in us because we are worth the investment," she said, as she pointed out herbs like Chinese thyme and oregano which youngsters might have a challenge identifying.

Still, her favourite part of the campaign so far has been the love from the people.

"Sometimes I come down and leave with yam, banana, pineapple to survive the week. Them make it easy fi me," she said. "This constituency is half of St James. It rough to cover all the ground, but when mi tired, it's the smile, the thank you, the extra hand that keep me going."

When asked about the legacy she hopes to leave, Burchell was clear.

"People must say 'While she was here, she worked hard and she delivered'. My priorities are basic, but urgent - water, roads, electricity, Internet [and] education. South St James deserves it, and I will fight to make sure we get it."

For her, this fight is not about politics but about preserving the spirit of South St James for future generations.

"From Garland to Cambridge, Mocho to Catadupa, I want the next little girl to believe she can do absolutely anything. Because if South St James gave Jamaica Daddy Sharpe, doctors, teachers, and great leaders, we can give more."

And with that, Burchell plated her dishes, laughing that her cooking skills deserved "an 11 out of 10". Just like in politics, she is determined to turn up the heat and keep the fire burning for South St James.