KSAMC CORRUPTION BOMBSHELL: FORMER PNP CANDIDATE EXPOSES ALLEGED ELECTION SCHEME IN OFFICIAL MOCA STATEMENT

The ongoing corruption scandal engulfing the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) and the opposition People's National Party (PNP) has taken a seismic turn, with the emergence of a formal statement submitted to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).

The six-page document, given by former PNP caretaker for Central Kingston, Lawrence Rowe, outlines explosive allegations of a scheme within the KSAMC to funnel public funds into the political activities of PNP candidates and caretakers.

Rowe’s statement implicates at least seven PNP officials, providing detailed accusations that KSAMC budget allocations were routinely diverted to PNP representatives for personal and political use. In one particularly damning claim, Rowe recounts being personally offered KSAMC funds by a municipal official to support his political work. The transaction, he says, came with explicit instructions to keep it secret.

“I believe that the monies were from the KSAMC and it was to be a secret,” Rowe reportedly told MOCA, further stating that the funds were to be used “for political activity or anything the PNP caretakers so desire.”

Even more alarming is Rowe’s claim that at least four community dons were financially supported by a KSAMC-based PNP official. While he expressed uncertainty about the source of the funds given to these area leaders, he was clear about KSAMC money being used to bolster PNP political ground operations.

One battleground constituency stood out in the allegations. According to Rowe, hundreds of thousands of dollars were being funneled monthly to a PNP caretaker via a divisional chair who would encash the transfers.

MOCA has reportedly seized Rowe’s Samsung A53 smartphone, extracting text messages, voice recordings, and images as part of its high-stakes investigation. These digital artifacts are said to form a significant part of the anti-corruption agency’s probe into the KSAMC and the PNP’s internal operations.

Earlier this year, Kingston’s Mayor Andrew Swaby rejected any claims of misconduct within the KSAMC under his leadership. This came after a leaked conversation surfaced where Rowe questioned PNP General Secretary Dr. Dayton Campbell about the uneven distribution of KSAMC resources among party members. Dr. Campbell responded that the allocation was “strategic,” in light of anticipated by-elections.

Dr. Campbell has since denied all wrongdoing or knowledge of the alleged scheme.

OUR TAKE:
If even half of what Rowe is claiming turns out to be true, this would mark one of the most severe breaches of public trust in recent Jamaican political history. What’s most troubling is not just the misuse of public funds, but the normalization of it as a strategic tool within internal party politics. This goes beyond partisanship it’s about the integrity of governance and accountability at the local level. MOCA has its work cut out, but Jamaicans deserve the truth, and they deserve it quickly..