Local News

Morgan demands transparency on KSAMC Road-Patching Programme

09 October 2026
This content originally appeared on Jamaica News.
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October 9, 2026
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Written byShanice Gibbs

Works Minister Robert Morgan is questioning the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation’s (KSAMC’s) decision to use Municipal funds to patch major roads managed by the National Works Agency (NWA).

He is also demanding that KSAMC Chairman and Kingston Mayor Andrew Swaby disclose the full cost and list of roads targeted under the Corporation’s recently announced road-patching programme.

While welcoming the initiative, Mr. Morgan argued that the decision raises questions about the KSAMC’s spending priorities, particularly as Municipal leaders from the People’s National Party have repeatedly cited financial constraints in maintaining community and parochial roads under their statutory responsibility.

The Minister is calling on Mayor Swaby to publish the exact financial value of the programme and a complete, searchable list of the 20 to 25 roads scheduled for patching.

Mr. Morgan insists that Jamaicans must be able to scrutinise how public funds are allocated and spent.

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According to Morgan, the Mayor has established a pattern of announcing multi-million-dollar road programmes without providing basic information for public verification.

He says in March, the Mayor announced an expenditure of $90 million to repair 33 roads across 17 divisions. Then in June, $31.4 million was earmarked for road and sidewalk works.

Mr. Morgan is calling on the KSAMC to publish comprehensive project information to accompany such announcements, including the specific roads selected for repairs and details of the associated expenditure.

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He is urging Mayor Swaby and the KSAMC to adopt the open data standards established by the Central Government.

He outlines that through the SPARK website and the interactive Jamaica Road Register, the Central Government publicly maps roads, publishes work orders, identifies the authorities responsible for each road and tracks reports of road defects submitted by citizens in real time.

Morgan also notes that the Central Government is prepared to share location-verified resident complaint data from the Jamaica Road Register with Mayor Swaby, highlighting the streets in the corporate area where taxpayers are demanding urgent repairs.