PNP PRESS CONFERENCE

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]we were seeing constituencies for example in eastern West Poland where Dr. Dayton Campbell spoke of earlier was that his roads the total cost was actually over a billion dollars but the allocation was 300 which means he has a shortfall of 700 which now makes it difficult because now they have to prioritize as in how many roads of the 10 can actually be done. So what we are seeing in some constituencies now is that 10 roads is a impossible situation.

[00:00:28]Some may get six, some may get three, some may get two. We don't know what the situation is at the particular moment and the minister continues to change the narrative as he goes along because even at the standing finance committee he continued to say that it will be 10 roads but in his last statement he declared that it's going to be six. So what is it? Is it 10? Is it six? Is it three? We don't know what is happening.

[00:00:56]And even my own constituency where workers started on three particular roads. But when we spoke to the contractors because work orders were issued for others, they advised me that those work orders even though issued no designs were there for them. So I'm trying to figure out how can you cost a road without having the design because the design should be done first before you can know exactly what will need to be done on that particular road for you to have a costing for it. So the entire thing has been messy. It has been in shambles and the government just needs to come forward and explain to Jamaica exactly what the truth is and how we move forward from this. There have been other complaints from other members of parliament especially about the worker compensation situation and the minister seem to have just thrown it or brushed it under the carpet. He's asking for proof. But what I'm asking the minister is that what kind of proof are you asking for? There is no formal system that these persons are being paid through. So they don't get pay slips.

[00:02:02]They don't get direct deposits to their account. Most of these persons are paid in cash. So I'm not sure what kind of proof the minister is asking for, but he cannot just throw it under the carpet because these are legitimate claims and remember these are our people who are out there working under this program and our people are the ones who are suffering. So the governments must stand behind our people and ensure that it is fair with whatever compensation that they are getting. In closing, I want to say the government continues to speak about politics anytime they're asked to be accountable. And I've noticed this trend from this minister. I've also noticed this is recently from the minister of local government where whatever you ask for, they try to twist it to be politics. Well, we're not about politics when we are speaking of the people because at the end of the day, we want to ensure that transparencies there, that we have proper accountability for the resources that are being spent, and we want the people of Jamaica to be the beneficiaries of whatever is done.

[00:03:23]Good morning Jamaica and good morning to the people of Western Hanover.

[00:03:28]Before I delve into the issues surrounding Spark, I want to bring to the attention the deplorable conditions of the roads in Western Hanover.

[00:03:41]Daily persons are complaining. I speak of the mother who told me just yesterday that she had to make a choice between driving her car to drop her child to school versus putting the child on a on a bike because her car cannot pass it.

[00:03:59]I want to talk about the breakaways, the numerous breakaways in Western Hanover that's causing quite a few issues.

[00:04:12]the breakaway in King Zale going to DAS that breakaway has been there for several years and what you find is that members from the NWA they visit they come with you they visit I've been on more than one visit to the particular location the breakaway is getting worse and so it's an exercise in futility because nothing happens I want to talk about the breakaway that's ingrained This has been there um for over a year.

[00:04:45]It has been reported the NAA again visits.

[00:04:50]But what happens while we wait?

[00:04:54]There's a young child that fell over in this breakaway. There's a man coming from work that his car went over. While we wait, there's a mother that's traversing, a a pregnant mother that's traversing on a road and who was in distress.

[00:05:15]She went into labor and lost her child.

[00:05:18]A journey that would have taken 15 minutes to get to the hospital was over an hour and a half. These are the real issues that are existing on the ground in Western Hanover. Why wait? Why wait until a mother has lost her child to fix a breakaway? Why wait until a motorist falls over a breakaway? We need the government to act now and to fix these um breakaways that are happening. As it relates relates to Spark, there are numerous concerns.

[00:05:56]I hear my colleague from um West Morland mentioned a few, but I want to raise some serious concerns regarding the delayed and delay and slow pace as it relates to Spark program.

[00:06:13]Over in western Hanover, we were told that there are 10 routes that were listed. To date, only two have started.

[00:06:25]I want to find out what are the timelines relating to this. When will they be completed?

[00:06:34]We also concerned about the poor communication as it relates to the the the the contractors when they're coming in, when they're starting, who do they tell?

[00:06:49]There is a very weak communication as it relates to the agencies, the contractors, the MPs, the constituents.

[00:07:04]What you're finding happening is that the contractors come in, they start the work, they leave. Nobody knows. The workers know, the MPs don't know.

[00:07:15]I I I make reference to East Hanover MP Perkins is not here today but over in Topill contractors turn up equipments were there but what happened they moved the equipment without notice now the residents are concerned they're blaming the MP that the MP moved the equipment and the work is not starting but the MP knows nothing about it over in Rugland They started the road.

[00:07:46]The contractors opted and just moved.

[00:07:52]It was not it was after intervention that I'm told that yes they are coming back. But this disregard for the residents constituents when they start it is too much and there needs to be intervention further as it relates to challenges being encountered by the contractors.

[00:08:14]Contractors are out there fixing the roads and what what happens is that there is a damage pipeline that delays the process. There's no communication between the contractor and the agencies.

[00:08:30]So the water is they're wasting the contractor is delayed in fixing. Further in Hanover in western Hanover there's a problem with water shortage. So over in Malcolm Heights the contractor work is delayed because there's no water and this and it goes on.

[00:08:53]There is also the question of changes in spark. The program appears to be rigid and does not allow for changes based on practical realities and urgent community needs. Even where logical adjustments are suggested, it does not happen.

[00:09:14]Let's take the example of East Avenue in Lucy. Everybody knows when you're passing through Lucy Town, there's significant delays.

[00:09:26]It's worst when the rain falls. You're stuck in that traffic for over four or five hours. The suggestion was made to fix the corridor from East Avenue running into Cemetery Road.

[00:09:42]This road connects to Malcolm Heights that they've already started fixing.

[00:09:47]Now, this is practical.

[00:09:49]This is a solution to the town of Lucy that is always there's a backup of traffic.

[00:09:59]This is the only alternate route when there is a backup in the town of Lucy and there are delays.

[00:10:09]However, what we have been told that it's set it can't change.

[00:10:14]They've already assessed it. Now I raise the concerns. Why is it so rigid?

[00:10:22]Why is it that the previous MP was allowed to choose roads or make changes? Why is it un those changes cannot be done by us as MPs? It's practical.

[00:10:39]It's realistic.

[00:10:41]It's an alternative solution. Yes, we have heard about the bypass that there will be a bypass bypass delusing. But we heard about it in um 2016 and if park is not sparking when will we get that bypass. So in the meantime, why not fix the alternate route which is East Avenue um to Symmetry Road? It's on the list of 10.

[00:11:08]Why? Why? Why not? There are questions about prioritizing. How do you prioritize and assess roads that you start fix within the 10?

[00:11:19]I I ask I I want to ask the minister how will they deal with this issue?

[00:11:28]There are roads that are being prioritized that they're low in population versus roads that are that that are traversed regularly and used by a wider number of persons.

[00:11:42]I'm told that the total constituency budget under the program is approximately 297 million. The estimated cost for the selected roads is approximately 292 millions million.

[00:11:58]So I ask roads that are being prioritized under park with low population size and usage.

[00:12:06]Why not look at roads that are alternate roads and are better value in terms of money and costs.

[00:12:20]There's also the concern about roads shifted or it's a question whether or not these roads are shifted. I want to use the example of Q from from Great River Bridge to Q. We're told that it is under spark 7 or 8.

[00:12:37]Now, I'm not sure if we're at um work order two or three, but it's supposed to be under work order seven or eight. Why not prioritize that road versus a road where there's a community where persons the population size is very small. I speak of Chigwell over in east east Hanover where persons are literally moving out of the community because of the flooding. Why spend the money on that road instead of looking at the road from Great River to Q? This road requires rehabilitation. A mere patching will not suffice. It requires rehabilitation.

[00:13:21]And so I ask and I'm seek seeking clarification whether that road has been removed from spark and whether this temporary patching is in lie of that road being fixed under spark.

[00:13:42]The people of western Hanover and Hanover deserves better.

[00:13:49]The people want to know. We want better coordination between the agencies.

[00:13:57]We want better communication with the MPs. We want better. Spark was supposed to be the solution.

[00:14:08]But Spark is not sparking.

[00:14:11]The people of Western Hanover want to know. Why wait?

[00:14:17]Why wait? Thank you, Jamaica.

[00:14:25]>> Good morning. I start with a simple premise. Bad roads kill communities.

[00:14:31]And I have a number of communities in central St. Mary that have been dying because of the unsafe condition of the roadways. So communities like Preston Hill, Hamstead, Islington, Marlboro, Essex, these community, Trimolsworth, and I could go on and on. These communities are dying. Islington has a high school, one of two high schools in the constituency, three primary schools.

[00:14:59]There's no safe way in and no safe way out. So as a long a lifelong resident of Islington, I attended the Spark consultation in March of in May of 2024.

[00:15:14]At the consultation, we were told that 10 roads would have been selected on Spark based on the consultation.

[00:15:23]And upon leaving some months later, we saw 10 roads listed on a site uh that was managed by Minister Morgan's ministry. 10 roads with no condition. So we left expecting that the Thompson Town Road would have been rehabilitated, that Esher Avenue would have been rehabilitated, that Capture Land would have been rehabilitated, that Albian Mountain would have been rehabilitated and several other roads.

[00:15:58]After declaring myself, after being declared a candidate for Central St. area member of parliament guy former MP reached out regarding the naming of llayison officers. He was told to name laon officers for two roads which would have been priority roads. These roads work started on in March of 2025.

[00:16:22]Escavators rolled in teams rolling. They started excavating the roadway. In April of 2025, the lasison for Kilan Collie reached out indicating that to his surprise, the teams were ready to begin laying asphalt even though there were pipes long-standing leaking issues under the ground on the NWC's delivery um piping system. And so he said the community was threatening to call in the media and I agreed because we were getting nowhere. The member of parliament was getting nowhere. the laser was getting nowhere. And so when the media rolled in, Minister Morgan went on media and indicated at that time in May of 2025 that it was already known that piping was a part of the Kilani project and as such he was disappointed that the representative had not informed the residents. We are now in May of 2026 and up to last week when it rained people were still driving into Kilanoli and into Cholsworth experiencing significant delays because of a a ridiculous amount of mud on the road when it is hot when it is windy the dust is a nuisance and this is a project that Minister Morgan indicated as far back as May of 2025 that it was already known that pipe work would have been a part of it. So I have questions.

[00:17:52]If it was known in 2025 or prior that pipes would need to be laid in Kilanoli, why did work begin? Why was the road excavated when pipes were not even yet in Jamaica? And if it was known that pipe work was a part of the kill project, why 15 months later, why is it 15 months later only after a press release was dispatched last week that a team on Saturday went into the community with significant distrust from residents because they have seen many stops and starts overtime. And I think Minister Morgan, if you are going to take credit for the perceived successes of Spark, then the failures also rest at your feet. We were promised 10 roads.

[00:18:41]Upon becoming member of parliament, it was brought to my attention that the 10 roads would have a an estimated cost of over $800 million, but the budget for the roads in central St. Mary under Spark is $272 million. So my question is, was this 10 road just a part of a narrative to win votes?

[00:19:04]When can the people of Esher and Captur and Thompson Town and Albian Mountain and other communities in central St. Mary expect their roads to be fixed? Because the people of Trinity Land, Albian Mountain, Thompson Town, Haywood Hall, Capture Land, Guava River, they are all counting on the word of the government. And if you can't trust the word of your government, it really don't doesn't make any sense. I want to say one final thing. Um, if I'm permitted, in January of 2025, Prime Minister Holes visited the constituency of Central St. Mary to hand over a home in Albian Mountain. We invited them to take a tour of a then a collapsed bridge in Albian Mountain which connects the community to the main road. In fact, it connects the community near to all the essential services, the fire, police, um all of them, the hospital, their alternate route is to drive through the congested town of Port Maria. This was in January of 2025. I've been asking and I have still not received a timeline. When can we expect the Albian Mountain Bridge to be replaced? The Trinity Bridge to be replaced so that communities such as Cox Street and Albian Mountain can be connected. The residents contend that a house that recently burnt down could have been saved if the fire truck didn't have to go through the congested town of Port Maria in order to get to Albian Mountain. That is one. The second question, there's a foring that leads to Marlboro. On that same trip, we invited and showed the prime minister the cavity in that foring that had reduced the foring to less than single lane traffic.

[00:20:56]The prime minister looked at it on the same day that he saw the Trinity Bridge and indicated that it would be easier to have the foring fixed than the Trinity Bridge. I've asked questions in Parliament in October. I've asked in November. I've asked that standing finance committee and I am yet to hear from the prime minister what are the plans as the responsible minister to have the foring that leads into Marlboro fixed so that we don't have to worry about going to bed and waking up with your windows and door open. I want to wake up without being concerned that people will the cavity will cause the foring to collapse and somebody will have to be rushed to the hospital. Thank you.

[00:21:48]Good morning. Good morning, Jamaica.

[00:21:51]I want you to travel with me for a moment to a community on the top of a hill served by a winding road. At least that's what it used to be, but now washed out and looks more like a riverbed. loose gravel and hardly any asphalt present. And imagine you have to traverse that road daily whether you're going to church or school or coming from the supermarket.

[00:22:20]And in addition, imagine now that the taxes have said we are not going any further on this road because it's just destroying our vehicles. Now that could be probably any community road in this country but in this case this refers to Johnny Spring in Higin Town in my constituency.

[00:22:43]The challenge with this road is that there was also a promise a promise that was sold to the country that under spark these this road will be one of those that would be rehabilitated.

[00:22:57]And I tell you what, we were given dates before the hurricane. And since the hurricane, we've had not just one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but at least six start dates. Those dates came and went without not even as much as the respect to say the delay is because of X Y or something else.

[00:23:29]That to me reflect the height of disrespect which is shown to people in communities that are supposed to be served by a program that should bring hope. A program that is supposed to alleviate the challenges our people are facing.

[00:23:46]But for my constituency, there is a bigger challenge, a bigger problem that we have to confront.

[00:23:54]You see, Southeast Saint an is home to 225 kilometers of NWA managed roads. 225 and that is the most of any constituency in this country. To add to that, according to the NAA, over 80% of these roads require rehabilitation, not patching, serious dig up and fix back.

[00:24:22]None of that has happened in this constituency in the longest while to any road. There's hardly a kilometer of road you can traverse in my constituency without potholes.

[00:24:35]Now, if you talk to the people of Dunville, they can hardly get in and out of their community. You talk to the people of Whiteall, they can hardly get in and out of their communities. If you try to go to 9 mile from Alderton, they can you can hardly make the trip. But think also of Golden Grove Primary.

[00:24:57]In front of Golden Grove Primary is one of the worst pieces of roads in the constituency. When it rains, it's treacherous. The teachers, the students, they're risking their health and in some cases their lives to cross the road to get to school. Now that it's not raining, it's a dust bowl, not only affecting the students and the school, but the entire community. And so these issues make it really challenging, especially when these are roads that should be addressed by the Spark program.

[00:25:33]What Spark has done is created this heightened sense that hope re some relief is on the way and it hasn't delivered. For the roads in my constituency, the nine roads that are on the spark program, the estimated cost is $2.3 billion.

[00:25:55]2.3 billion. The allocation so far is 315 million. That's less than 15%.

[00:26:07]And to make matters worse, the 315 million has been allocated for three roads. One has started. The other one has been promised, as I said, six. And if I count the middle of May, which is the latest date we've been given, seven potential start dates. Nothing has happened. Well, might be I should count the fact that signs have been put up saying caution, work, men at work, because the signs have been there for a few months, but no work has started. The other one, the new hall road, no work has started and it too has had multiple proposed start dates which have not been met. So spark which is supposed to spark hope and make our roads safe are not achieving that at the moment. And so the responsibility rests at the feet of the government. Our point here is that we want it done. Actually, if all nine roads on the spark program in my constituency are done, it would be less than 40% just about 40% of the NWA managed roads. So, it actually would still be a drop in the bucket. There would still be a long way to go to actually make a serious dent in dealing with the road issues in the constituent.

[00:27:34]But there are a couple other road related issues which we've advocated on multiple times.

[00:27:42]These relate to breakaways and you've heard my colleague MPs also speaking to these. There's a breakaway in Whiteall in the Blackstone Age area and that breakaway is has reduced the road to single lane traffic. Similar thing exists on the road to 9M. A similar situation is happening in the Pedro River area. And there are other places where these breakaways have been reported but no actions taken. Again, I would hate for a situation where we have to lose a life. Someone has to be injured seriously before action is taken. It should not it should not come to that. We also have a situation in the Pedro River area, the border with Clarendon where a bridge was destroyed almost two years going three years now.

[00:28:37]A temporary solution was put in place and it sits on a very treacherous frame of the old bridge and that too is caused for great concern and one I know MP Wayel Hines has advocated on but no action taken as yet. These things show a great disregard for our people because you cannot talk about prosperity. You cannot talk about productivity. You cannot say you care if our people cannot move from point to point with dignity, with some predictability that the very cars they're trying to take will take them there safely.

[00:29:18]Now I too want to speak to the fact that my constituency is host of one of the alternate routes for the highway.

[00:29:30]The route the road from Mount Diablo to Ourus and the also the section from Golden Grove to Davistown run through these roads run through southeast Saint Anne. These roads are alternates to the the the toll road and as such should be maintained by the NWA. I am calling on the government to ensure the resources are provided. These resources should be separate and apart from those provided for the other roads that are in the constituency. It cannot be that the roads that are provided to ensure that those who cannot pay the toll have a safe and easy passage are competing with the resources provided for the the the other local roads. So I close with a few questions. The first one, the obvious. Will the date given for the start of the Johnny Spring Road, which is now middle of May, will that be kept? Because so far we have not seen success in adhering to deadlines that have been given.

[00:30:39]Can we see faster deployment of resources that have been allocated under the patching programs? The first phase of patching program for which resources were allocated in November December of last year is still ongoing in my constituency.

[00:30:57]Yet a second round has been announced and so we need to see expediency when these resources are provided.

[00:31:05]I want to also ask because we're told that due to contractual obligations, roads cannot be changed. But if contractual obligations prevent roads from being changed, why aren't contractual obligations requiring the contractors to deliver on time?

[00:31:25]Because at the moment that is not happening. The spark we which gave such hope to people is now leading to frustration. And I tell you every community that is on spark and it's not limited to my constituency. We spend most of our time, a significant amount of our time saying to communities, hold the strain. It is going to happen. But for how long, how much longer can we do that when our reassurances, our new start dates have not been met time and time and time again.

[00:32:04]them say every day bucket go to the well one day the bucket bottom must drop out there you have it what the pattern is clear that it's not just that the work is delayed but there is uneven implementation of the spark program shifting commitments poor coordination and growing frustration from communities. I want to spend just a moment before we take the questions to highlight that there in the second component of the spark program which is supposed to deal with the main road programs. The government is pushing to start that aspect. What we learned at the PAAC is that there are certain criteria that will qualify main roads to be selected by NWA. Some of those criteria include important buildings, roads that connect to other constituencies, high volume roads. So what that means is that in constituencies that are remote such as South St. James, areas in southeast St. Mary, in central St. Mary, even in central West Morland and central Hanover, western Hanover, roads will not likely get on this part of Spark because they don't meet the criteria that Spark has set out for the second phase of its program. So, communities are being overlooked under Spark One and will also be overlooked again under Spark 1A. I also want to spend one second to reaffirm the opposition's commitment to any program that transparently and builds in accountability to ensure that people get the services they deserve in this country. So are we against Spark? Not at all. The opposition wants Spark to work. We need Spark to work. We get the complaints. We have to be sitting with the constituents and saying, "Please don't block the road because we want the program to work."

[00:34:23]We're asking the government to be fair, to be realistic, and to be able to adjust where the need arises because right now Spartan needs an injection.

[00:34:36]And if that doesn't come soon, then I don't know how long we can keep the people from blocking the roads. We're going to open the floor for questions.

[00:34:43]If you are online, please indicate by using the raised hand icon. If you're in the room and you have a question, please indicate by raising your hand. Then when you get the microphone, state your name, your organization, and proceed with your question after you have been identified.

[00:35:11]While we wait for the phone lines to open, I want to say to the residents in South St. James, Bottom Road, Cambridge, Richmond Hill to Mafuto, Brothers Retreat, Horse Guards, Catskin, Malden Road, Briset Road, Old School Road in Niagara, Old Jackson Road, Comfort Hall to Walespawn Road. Help us to get the message to the government that you need Spark to actually come to these communities because you were promised and you're looking for Spark to come to their community.

[00:35:51]We will now open the phone lines for Christopher.

[00:35:55]Christopher, please unmute your phone and go ahead with your question.

[00:36:01]>> Yes. Uh good morning Christopher Thomas here from hearing clearly.

[00:36:06]>> Hearing you clearly.

[00:36:08]>> Okay. I just want to seek some clarification as to a point that Miss Meadow Bennett would have raised when she was speaking as it relates to the the contractors. I want to find out if this is something that is also across the board for everybody specifically.

[00:36:25]Is is it a case where the contractors when they get the job they do portion here, do portion next week, do portion the following week. So is is it anything like that and what um what what has the response been when you ask about this?

[00:36:44]>> Okay, we're going to invite Mrs. Miller Bennett to speak to her experience in Western Hanford.

[00:36:57]>> So the difficulty that we're having is that the contractor starts, they stop, you don't know when they're coming back, you don't know when they're leaving.

[00:37:06]workers, they employed workers and workers don't know. So when they come to you, you don't know what to say because there's no communication. So yes, the work starts, it stops, but nobody communicates when it's going to start back or when um what is happening. So I'm I know other constituencies complain of the same problem over in East Hanover.

[00:37:34]equipment mobilized in a particular area. Expectations, the residents expect the work to start.

[00:37:43]But then what happens? Equipment is moved. They're sitting there. Workers ready to start and they move the equipment without communicating, without telling you. They ask you for lason officers. You give them las officers, but they're not communicating with the las officer. the laser on officer is they're left in a dark in the dark. The contractors don't speak to them and so they don't know.

[00:38:15]>> Thank you.

[00:38:20]>> A little nuanced in mind but um same outcome. I think at the policy level um there may have been some issues or poor communication. So a lot of the stops and starts in central St. Mary have been because contractors it based on the conversations with my lasison were told to begin roads that did not have pipes leaking or did not need pipe replacement but based on community knowledge these were actually communities that had leaks prior to the project coming on on stream. So I think whatever was communicated to the contractors um who came in in central St. Mary would have caused them to have to do significant stop and start because they had to stop wait get some amount of materials locally when it ran out. They had to wait again for materials to come in and that is what would have contributed to the 15 month and counting delay um between the start of this 2 kilometers of road and where we are now.

[00:39:23]>> Okay. Okay, so there you have it. And even in the in the case of South St. James, the one road that has been started, which is Brit Road, start stop for a long time and still waiting.

[00:39:34]That's it for us this morning from the office of the leader of the opposition.

[00:39:37]Thank you for joining us. Please follow us on Twitter, Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram at Jamaica PNP. Good morning.

[00:40:10]I know why you come to me with that foolishness. You know, he elect a prime minister and is a prime minister around the country.

[00:40:19]It is time we learn to hold our leaders accountable for their actions and stop making excuses for them. Stop making excuses otherwise go elect the people who really run the country and I don't want to start that stupid argument.

[00:40:37]Hold the people you elect accountable and stop making excuses for them.