Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Robert Nesta Morgan, is accusing the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) of ‘stealing’ the ideas of the government and presenting them in a manifesto launched on Tuesday as their own.

Morgan made these accusations on his ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) page on Wednesday, August 13, a day after the PNP launched its manifesto.

In his post, he claimed that the PNP ripped off programmes already being implemented by the Jamaica Labour Party.

The Opposition has repeatedly claimed that the ruling Labour Party has not done enough for the country regarding the development of the country’s institutions, social services, and infrastructure, accusing it of attempting only lacklustre initiatives and at times outright negligence.

“Although the government speaks of prosperity, the people continue to suffer,” the PNP’s manifesto stated. “Sixty-three years after independence, we ask ourselves: Where is the hope? Can better really come? The answer is yes, but only with leadership that prioritises the people.”

Morgan, however, has shot back, claiming that much is being done to improve the plight of the average Jamaican, and that several of the proposals brought forth by the People’s National Party are just rehashes of current government schemes.

“In total, seven of the nine measures in the PNP’s infrastructure section [of their manifesto] are already active JLP policy or projects, with the remaining two being minor variations or rebrandings of existing initiatives,” he claimed.”

The Minister without portfolio began by arguing that many of the country’s roads were already undergoing major modernisation through the ‘REACH Road Rehabilitation Programme’ and ‘SPARK’ system, which is “delivering targeted upgrades to interior, community, and farm roads across Jamaica.”

He also declared that the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) was already in the midst of a major farm road rehabilitation programme designed to kickstart further economic growth, whilst plans were in place for a ten-year road maintenance scheme under the JLP’s One Road Authority initiative.

Morgan went on to say that plans to address drainage cleaning were also being carried out in cooperation with the National Works Agency (NWA), calling for a major nationwide assessment and the development of a ‘Drainage Master Plan’.

The minister without portfolio continued by announcing that both the Government and NWA were also conducting local and regular cleaning, and that the Jamaican road network was being carefully monitored, graphed, and observed to properly determine potential ‘weather and climate risks’.

“This confirms that the PNP’s proposals do not introduce new policy direction but instead echo what the Government is already delivering,” Morgan concluded.

The People’s National Party have yet to make a response to Morgan’s accusations.