MINISTER with responsibility for works Robert Morgan has rejected claims by Opposition spokesman on labour Wavell Hinds that Jamaican contractors are being sidelined under the Government’s Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

Speaking at a People’s National Party (PNP) divisional conference in Milk River, Clarendon, on Sunday, Hinds alleged that the Government is using only Chinese contractors and subcontractors on the programme because, as reportedly said by one Government Member of Parliament, “our Jamaican contractors nah no use”.

“I have called on the Prime Minister [Dr] Andrew Holness to distance himself and his Government from those words [which are] very disrespectful to our contractors and builders who have built this nation for how many years,” said Hinds.

But on Monday Morgan told the Jamaica Observer that there is no truth to the claim by Hinds, and charged that the Opposition spokesman’s statements were “misleading, politically motivated, and reflective of a fundamental misunderstanding of how both national and international procurement processes function”.

According to Morgan, Hinds has revealed a troubling lack of understanding of how public procurement works.

“The SPARK programme is not a political handout — it is a national infrastructure initiative governed by transparency, regulation, and the law. It seems Mr Hinds would prefer that contracts be issued without process or accountability. That is not how a responsible Government operates,” added Morgan.

He told the Observer that more than 85 per cent of the contracts issued by the National Works Agency (NWA) are awarded to Jamaican firms.

“In fact, of the $8.7 billion spent last year on recurrent road maintenance, 100 per cent went to local contractors. Major capital works, such as those at Hellshire and Grange Lane [in St Catherine], have also been awarded entirely to Jamaican companies — amounting to billions of dollars in investment in our local industry,” declared Morgan.

Morgan argued that the approach of the Government is rooted in “efficiency, fairness, and accountability — not political favouritism”.

“There are 14 local subcontractors who are already engaged under the SPARK programme, with more to come on board,” said Morgan who was marking his first anniversary in charge of the works portfolio.

The works minister said the main contractor on the $45-billion SPARK programme, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), has to report to the NWA on a weekly basis on the roads where work has started, those where work is to begin, and its engagement with the local subcontractors.

‘There has been an attempt by political operatives to try and undermine the SPARK programme. Every week there seems to be some misinformation or disinformation by actors on a political platform,” said Morgan as he accused the PNP of trying to muddy the water around the massive road repair scheme.

“The good thing is that the SPARK programme is very resilient and it is very impervious to lies and disinformation because of its strength. And, the manifestation of the benefits of the programme will be for the people who will see that it is a good programme as their roads are being repaired after many decades of neglect,” added Morgan.

He argued that there has been a systemic attempt to discredit the programme which has more than $36 billion allocated for road repair, a further $5 billion for water-related infrastructure, and approximately $3 billion to cover, among other things, pre-investment costs and the costs to properly supervise the works.

More than 600 roads have been listed for extensive renovation under SPARK, following public consultations held with members of parliament in each of the 63 constituencies across the country.