Dawes demands accountability

The people of western Jamaica have been failed again.

Opposition Spokesperson on Health, Dr Alfred Dawes, says the government’s latest delay at Cornwall Regional Hospital confirms what patients and staff have known for years: this project has become a byword for mismanagement. First flagged for major rehabilitation in 2016 and promised for completion in September 2018, the hospital has now missed its target for a seventh time, with the finish line quietly pushed from September 2026 to “hopefully the end of year,” according to the Minister of Health. Ten years on, the Minister’s answer is the same one he has given every time: blame the contractors, blame the engineers, cite a shortage of local expertise, and dress the failure up as “caution” or “rescoping.”

The financial picture is just as damning. What began as a $2 billion project in 2018 has ballooned to $23.5 billion, an increase of $21.5 billion, representing roughly a 1,075 per cent cost overrun. Every time the bill grows, the explanation is the same: never mismanagement, always “necessary adjustment.” Jamaicans deserve to know how a hospital repair became one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the country’s history, with no firm date, no accountability, and no minister prepared to own the failure outright. The Opposition further notes that Ministry equipment procurement remains under investigation for price fixing, raising serious questions about whether taxpayer dollars allocated to this and other health infrastructure projects have delivered value or simply enriched favoured suppliers.

The Opposition is also demanding an update on the 10,000 square foot medical dome donated to ease overcrowding and speed up patient transfers at Cornwall Regional. The dome was originally due to be deployed by the third week of February 2026, with a final target of the end of that month. It is now July, and the public has been given no clear account of where the dome stands or when it will be fully operational. Meanwhile, front-facing areas of clinics and hospitals are renovated for ribbon-cutting and photo opportunities, while the staff who keep these facilities running continue to work in conditions unfit for the professionals they are, and patients continue to wait on overcrowded wards for beds that do not exist.

“Every missed deadline comes with a new excuse, and every new excuse gets dressed up as caution, rescoping, or some other PR buzzword. When that doesn’t work, it’s the contractor’s fault, or the engineers, or the shortage of local expertise. Those excuses have expired,” said Dr Dawes. “Ten years, seven missed deadlines, and twenty-three and a half billion dollars later, the people of western Jamaica deserve the truth, not another photo opportunity.”

The Opposition calls on the Minister to table a fully costed, independently verified completion plan for Cornwall Regional Hospital, with binding timelines and clear reasons for the current delay; a full account of the medical dome’s status; a public update on the rig bidding investigation into Ministry equipment procurement; and full accountability for every taxpayer dollar spent.