As the Government undertakes its $45-billion Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme, questions are being raised about whether road repairs and rehabilitation works are consistently being carried out to the required standards.

Several people who spoke with The Sunday Gleaner during an examination of road conditions last week said Jamaica’s challenge is not a lack of technical ability or skilled workers, but weak monitoring and enforcement to ensure contractors deliver work according to specifications.

An engineer, who requested anonymity, said the country is “robbed at the source”, arguing that in many instances the required materials are either not used or are not applied in the quantities stipulated.