KINGSTON, Jamaica — A damning report from Jamaica’s Auditor General has uncovered severe procurement breaches and misuse of tax-exempt status at the University Hospital of the West Indies, revealing systemic governance failures within the nation’s public health system that have cost taxpayers millions.
Opposition Health and Wellness spokesperson Dr. Alfred Dawes has declared the findings confirm a persistent pattern of administrative negligence and failed oversight. “For more than a year, I have consistently raised concerns about procurement practices across the Ministry of Health and Wellness and its agencies,” stated Dr. Dawes on Wednesday. “Each time, those warnings were dismissed, with the minister assuring the country that systems were sound. The Auditor General has now confirmed this was untrue.”
The audit revealed that hundreds of millions of dollars were committed without basic documentation, directly contradicting repeated public assurances from Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton that procurement rules were being followed. This follows a familiar pattern of irregularities, including the Integrity Commission’s earlier exposure of an improper $80 million payment to Market Me and the acquisition of a $31 million drill for Bustamante Hospital for Children—a transaction publicly praised by the minister despite its procedural flaws.
Dr. Dawes dismissed government attempts to attribute these failures to previous administrations as implausible. “This Government has been in office for nearly a decade, with full parliamentary majority and control of the public health system. After three consecutive terms, excuses about inherited weaknesses lack credibility,” he asserted.
The consequences extend beyond financial waste, directly impacting healthcare delivery. “When procurement systems fail, hospitals go without essential equipment, services deteriorate, healthcare workers are left unsupported, and patients ultimately pay the price,” Dr. Dawes emphasized. “This is how a health system is driven into crisis—not by chance, but by poor governance and failed political oversight.”
Calling for independent accountability measures, Dr. Dawes stressed that the public cannot trust internal reviews conducted by the same leadership that presided over these failures. “A system cannot credibly investigate itself. A committee appointed by the minister to examine wrongdoing within a system he oversees is like a man on trial choosing his own jury. Jamaicans deserve independent scrutiny, meaningful reform, and accountability that prioritizes patients and public funds.”