KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister with responsibility for Works, Robert Nesta Morgan, has rejected what he described as misleading and politically convenient claims made by representatives of the Opposition regarding the Government’s SPARK Programme.

Morgan in a Monday afternoon statement said the Opposition is attempting to convert legitimate community concerns about road conditions into a false narrative that the SPARK Programme has failed.

“The Government will not capitulate to a misleading political narrative. SPARK is changing lives and communities. It is a serious national road rehabilitation programme dealing with serious infrastructure problems across Jamaica,” Morgan said.

The minister noted that SPARK is already in active implementation, with seven work orders issued covering 313 roads islandwide.

Of these, 107 roads have either been completed or are at the paving/asphalting stage, while 89 are at varying stages of planning. He further noted that approximately $10.4 billion has already been certified, including mobilisation.

Morgan emphasised that no road rehabilitation programme of this scale, structure and national impact has ever before been attempted by any Government in the history of Jamaica.

He said SPARK represents a deliberate shift from ad hoc patching to a coordinated national programme of rehabilitation, involving community roads, main roads, drainage, waterline coordination, engineering design, contractor mobilisation and quality assurance.

“No programme of this nature and impact has ever been attempted

before by any Government. SPARK is not a slogan; it is a national infrastructure intervention already delivering across Jamaica. The scale is unprecedented, the work is active, and roads are being completed, paved and advanced in communities across the country,” Morgan stated.

“The Jamaican people do not want temporary patchwork that may wash away after the next heavy rain. They want roads that are properly designed, properly drained and properly built,” the minister stated.

Morgan also addressed comments made by Opposition representatives regarding road selections under SPARK.

He noted that the roads included under the programme were not arbitrarily chosen or imposed on communities.

“It is misleading to suggest that roads under SPARK were simply selected by a previous Member of Parliament or imposed on communities. These roads were chosen through an open consultation process involving residents, community stakeholders and political representatives, including members of the Opposition. The communities spoke, their priorities were recorded, and those voices cannot now be betrayed or casually discarded for political convenience,” Morgan said.

He added that the Opposition now appears to be advocating for changes to roads already selected through consultation, without demonstrating that the affected communities have been consulted again.

“The Jamaican people must ask why they now want to alter roads that communities themselves identified as priorities. The voices of residents matter. They cannot be respected only when politically convenient,” he said.

He further noted that the main road component of SPARK will begin this year and will complement community road rehabilitation by improving the wider network used daily for transportation, commerce, education, agriculture, tourism and emergency access.

“SPARK 2 will finish what could not be completed under SPARK 1. The main road component will also begin this year and will target critical corridors that connect communities, parishes and economic centres. The claim that rural and remote communities will be left behind is simply false,” Morgan said.

The minister said the Government will continue strengthening implementation, improving communication with communities, ensuring better coordination among the National Works Agency and contractors, and holding contractors to required standards.

“The Opposition’s approach is to oppose but Government’s focus is different: we are turning consultation into construction, and construction into completed roads. We remain committed to transparency, accountability, fairness and delivery under SPARK and the wider road improvement programme,” he concluded.