KINGSTON, Jamaica — Young Jamaica, the youth arm of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is calling on Shadow Minister on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes to state whether a company owned by a People’s National Party (PNP) Member of Parliament is implicated in alleged irregularities identified in a recent audit of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

READ: UHWI calls in fraud squad

In a release, Young Jamaica said the auditor general reported that UHWI’s tax exemption status was inappropriately used in 2024 to import 12 dialysis machines into Jamaica, and questioned whether the equipment was received by a company owned by a sitting PNP member of parliament. The matter is reportedly under investigation by the police Fraud Squad.

The organisation is also urging Dawes to indicate whether he believes the actions outlined in the auditor general’s report, which it said involve a company owned by a PNP MP, who is also a senior member of the Mark Golding-led party, amount to defrauding the Jamaican state and disadvantaging vulnerable citizens.

Young Jamaica further argued that, given Dawes’ proximity to his parliamentary colleagues, he should be in a position to ascertain the facts and disclose them to the public.

The group reiterated its position that, following the auditor general’s special performance audit of UHWI, all relevant investigations should be allowed to proceed without interference.

Young Jamaica said it supports a process in which accountability is pursued and “the chips should fall where they may.”