Gov't, opposition clash over state of roads as PM renews call for patience

By Clinton McGregor 

 

Amid growing frustration and criticism of his administration's handling of the poor state of Jamaica's road network, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has again called for patience from the public while the government work to fix the crisis.

 

In a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Holness argued that the government is moving to address the situation.

 

He cited the unusual rainfall which affected the island last year and caused major damage to road infrastructure across the island.

 

Dr. Holness said the emergency road patching programme has begun.

 

"It is important to note that the heavy rainfall only subsided in early December, which delayed any repairs until after that time. To address the urgent needs, the government allocated $6.5 billion, which includes $5 billion for road surface repairs, and $1.5 billion for a constituency-based mitigation programme launched in late 2024."

 

The first phase of the mitigation programme, he said, coincided with the Christmas season and focused on essential tasks such as cleaning drains, removing debris, and maintaining road verges. 

 

"As we moved into 2025, the second phase began focusing on patching work across all 63 constituencies. And I'm certain, Mr Speaker, that in all constituencies, there is a flurry of work being done to patch damaged roads," he declared. 

 

The Prime Minister, however, acknowleged the misery level of motorists and the public in general about the poor road surfaces as well as concerns about the speed of the response. 

 

"I am not satisfied that we are moving as fast as we could. The public bureaucracy is hard to manoeuvre, but I assure you, Mr Speaker, that we have put in place the necessary measures and the programmes are now picking up pace and they are accelerating," he said, adding that the government is closely monitoring the progress. 

 

Dr. Holness said strict instructions have been given to the 14 contractors hired by the government to carry out the road repairs after concerns were raised about how the work was being done. 

 

"There are concerns that have been raised regarding the patching - that the contractors patch a piece and then there is a little pothole beside it, they leave that little pothole and they have gone to another piece. We have interrogated that. Of course, the claim is that they are being economical. They don't want to focus on the small pothole. They want to focus on the big ones because that makes the driving surface easier. But we have said to them, look, patch the road properly. A small pothole left will become a big one. So just patch it now. So we have changed the modus operandi of those contractors."

 

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Mark Golding blasted the Prime Minister over his presentation, accusing him and his administration of failing the country in addressing the road situation.

 

According to Mr. Golding, Dr. Holness is seeking to blame climate change and the past People's National Party government for the deteriorating road conditions.

 

"Mr. Speaker, this idea that climate change cause the bad roads in Jamaica, mash down that lie. It is nothing to do with it. We have had heavy rains from time to time in Jamaica for years. Climate change is a reality and it's coming at us. But to blame the poor state of the road network of the country on climate change is a farce and the people of Jamaica don't believe it. They're holding you accountable for it. And for you to try and pretend that it's the PNP responsible for it when you've been in government for nine years, it just does not wash," the Opposition Leader argued.