ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica – Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Central and Government Minister Robert Morgan has continued to hit back at the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) over the party’s repeated criticism of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)-led administration.

“This Andrew Holness-led administration is probably the best Government this country has had since Alexander Bustamante declared independence in 1962…” Morgan said while addressing the JLP’s Pedro Plains and Mountainside Divisional conference at Newell High in south west St Elizabeth on Thursday.

He said PNP failed to address the needs of the country when it was in power.

“… When I hear some people a talk about Governance and Government and this and that, if you were such a good Government why you never do it when you were there?” he asked.

“PNP never build a hospital in a Jamaica. We built Cornwall Regional, Bustamante Children’s Hospital, May Pen Hospital, Chapelton Hospital….” Morgan added.

He pointed to the ongoing construction of the Southern Coastal Improvement Project including roadworks in St Thomas and May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 between Clarendon and Manchester.

“Remember in the 90s and the 2000s every single night you watch yuh TV people a block road seh road bad. You think seh weh yuh a see now bad,” he said.

“When me look pon the highway weh a build from Clarendon go all the way up a Williamsfield. When mi look pon St Thomas weh dem seh is the forgotten parish, a only JLP memba it.”

Morgan criticised the Opposition for its continued calls for Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton to resign following reports that 12 neonates died in a recent outbreak of klebsiella pneumoniae infections at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Jamaica’s major maternity hospital.

He pointed to what is known as the ‘dead baby scandal’ in which 18 pre-term babies in the public health system and the then Health Minister, Dr Fenton Ferguson, was removed from his post.

“When I sat and watched Parliament when we [found] out seh babies were dying and a man stood up in Parliament and said these were not babies in the real sense…. how can you compare that man with Christopher Tufton?” he asked.

“When the pandemic lick a Chris me see a airport a collect vaccine to protect us. A Chris me see a build new section a hospital to protect us. A Chris me see a employ more doctors and nurses to protect us, if you compare Christopher Tufton and Fenton Ferguson you see chalk and you see cheese,” added Morgan.

He is awaiting Prime Minister Andrew Holness to call the local Government elections which are due by February 2023.

“Me just a wait fi Andrew call it, because when me go pon the campaign trail and me can tell the people dem thing yah PNP cyah test we again,” he said.