Opposition Spokesperson on Trade, Industry and Global Logistics Anthony Hylton is calling on the Prime Minister to immediately clarify reports that the Morant Bay Urban Centre remains incomplete and inaccessible to tenants, nearly a year after he officially opened it in April 2025.

The PNP claim that despite the Prime Minister presiding over the April 2025 launch as the main speaker, the facility still lacks basic utilities and faces unresolved sewage issues, with the vast majority of commercial spaces yet to be handed over.

Hylton said the December 2025 opening of a single fast-food outlet does little to mask the “transparent abuse of public funds”.

“It is an act of fiscal irresponsibility and a disservice to the people of St Thomas,” said Hylton. “The Prime Minister stood at that site in April 2025, cut a ribbon, and took credit for a project that was, and remains, a construction site. They spent millions on a political backdrop when it should have been obvious that the work was incomplete and that move-in dates were a distant reality.”

Hylton argued the lavish ceremonial opening by the Prime Minister was premature and a clear election ploy, leaving local retailers who invested in stock in anticipation of the opening facing significant financial losses.

“These small business operators planned their finances, secured stock, and waited for their keys. Ten months later, they are still waiting, bleeding revenue every day the gates remain closed to them,” he added.

The Opposition Spokesperson demanded full disclosure of the FCJ’s role in financing the project and an accounting of how extended delays and cost overruns are being funded, questioning how the Prime Minister could justify cutting the ribbon on a project not ready for commerce.

“The people of Jamaica deserve better than political theatre funded by the public purse,” Mr. Hylton concluded.