Relief red flag - Up to February, ODPEM spend only 1.8 per cent of cash donations meant to assist Hurricane Melissa victims

Four months after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa left a path of destruction, particularly across southern and western Jamaica, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) had spent only $26 million, or 1.8 per cent of the $1.44 billion in cash donation to assist Jamaicans devastated by the storm.

Many Jamaicans are yet to recover from the monster hurricane which levelled houses and turned ordinary Jamaicans’ lives into a virtual nightmare.

A real-time audit conducted by Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis found that, as at February 23, 2026, cash balances of approximately $569.6 million and US$5.9 million remained in ODPEM’s Jamaica and United States donation accounts, respectively.

However, the balance did not change when the auditor general issued a draft report for the agency to review and provide feedback as at April 2, 2026.

It was also revealed that the balances included $138.8 million and US$0.1 million that remained unspent from cash donations collected in response to Hurricane Beryl.

In its April 2026 response, ODPEM indicated that the low level of utilisation was due to the absence of authorisation from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to expend the funds. 

Hurricane Beryl struck Jamaica, particularly the southern belt of the island, leaving a trail of devastation across St Elizabeth on July 3, 2024.

It was reported that agriculture, mining, tourism and infrastructure experienced the greatest impact which left the country with an estimated damage of $32.2 billion.

In her audit, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the auditor general said ODPEM did not present information on the total amounts collected or the planned expenditure strategy for Hurricane Beryl.

As a result, Monroe Ellis said she was unable to ascertain whether the unspent balances related to funds earmarked for ongoing relief activities or reflected delays or omissions in programme execution.

She noted that the presence of significant unutilised balances from Hurricane Beryl prior to the commencement of Hurricane Melissa fundraising further indicates weaknesses in the planning, monitoring, and utilisation of donated funds across disaster response cycles.

The auditor general said donation funds collected for disaster response are expected to be used promptly and transparently in accordance with established expenditure plans and donor intent.

“Therefore, we expect recipient agencies, such as ODPEM, to develop and document a clear expenditure plan for donor funds. This plan should align with donor intent, ensure timely and effective use of resources, and provide transparent accounting to donors regarding how their contributions are utilised.”

At the same time, the real-time audit into the spending of donations to assist hurricane victims has identified significant delivery verification deficiencies.

The auditor general reported that of the $122.5 million in building supplies delivered to Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) locations, only $88.6 million was formally acknowledged as being received by the army, representing 72.2 per cent of total deliveries.

Further, the guardian of the country’s expenditure highlighted that the remaining $34 million in roofing materials, representing 27.8 per cent of all materials delivered, was not supported by signed delivery slips or Goods Received Notes (GRNs) countersigned by either the ODPEM or a JDF representative. She said this left these deliveries unverified and unacknowledged by the receiving party.

In addition to the delivery verification deficiencies, the auditor general said payment data for two of four contracts remained outstanding as of the date of this report.

Specifically, she said payment confirmation was not provided for the contracts awarded to Supplier No. 2 under Procurement Round 1 (valued at $52.3 million) and to Supplier No. 3 (valued at $56.2 million).

As at March 31, 2026, total contract commitments for roofing materials amounted to $167.3 million, with only $26.2 million in payments verified to date. This leaves $141.1 million in committed expenditure without corresponding confirmed payment documentation.   

 edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com