Opposition spokesman on finance, Julian Robinson, has urged Prime Minister Andrew Holness to address issues with procurement that have delayed the process of road repairs in some constituencies.

His comments follow a recent announcement from the Prime Minister that approximately J$150 million will be allocated to each constituency for road rehabilitation works under the SPARK programme.

Addressing the Parliament on Tuesday, Robinson expressed concerns about potential delays with procurement under the new programme, given issues experienced with similar road repair programmes announced by Holness.

The Opposition spokesperson shared that in 2022, it was announced that each MP would be allocated funds to repair roads within their constituency. He said that he immediately acted and completed all the processes needed to start implementation. However, it is now 2024 and the projects have not started due to procurement issues.

“I have constituents who say to me, I see some people fixing whole heap a road, why my road cah fix? I am at pains to indicate that I have done my part as MP, and bureaucracy has not been able to get the project started. So, I believe it is important to hear the concerns of colleagues and I know colleagues on that side have told me the same thing, so it’s not confined to us over here. The delays have been problematic for us,” Robinson outlined.

He further expressed concerns about the March 2024 timeline given for consultations on the road repairs to conclude.

Robinson noted that it is expected that local government elections will be announced before the end of February. He further noted that the consultation deadline falls within the budget debate cycle, in which some MPs will have to partake.

“To properly organise that is difficult before the end of March. Very difficult before the end of March. So while I appreciate that you want and I want the projects to start and to get going quickly, I’m just saying you may compromise the integrity of those consultations if you push people to get it done before March 31,” he said.

The Opposition spokesperson added that the process of fixing roads is time a lot more time-consuming than members of the public believe. He expressed concerns that constituents might become impatient and urged Holness to state how the Government plans to manage the expectations of the public.

In response, the prime minister said the Government will be transparent about the process, having debates in the public space so that citizens can keep informed about the entire road repair process.

“We are going to ensure that at every step of this project, there is transparency. That the public is informed and that it is not just information going on the airwaves, but there is a process for community dissemination of information throughout the consulting process,” said Holness.

“We have studied the short comings of [other] projects and we are trying to make sure that we correct those short comings in this project,” he added.

Holness further noted that procurement guidelines are put in place to maintain accountability and integrity and cannot be change for the convenience of MPs.

The prime minister acknowledged that the consultation period might be considered too short. However, he said the aim is to have the repairs completed within the shortest time possible.

“The time from now to March may be considered too short, but bear in mind, it is almost 60 days, which is two months. You have the entire February you can use for preparation and the entire March that you can use for consultation. That was the thinking behind it,” said Holness.

“So we want to keep a tight timeline on it so that we can go through the other processes so that we can actually start implementation…and I therefore urge members, yes it is a short period of time, but I have supreme confidence in all members here that if we put the effort and focus we can achieve it,” he added.

The SPARK initiative, part of the Government’s Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network programme, is a J$40-billion road improvement project set to benefit over 2,000 roads across the island over the next two years.