Real-time audit

The Auditor General’s Department is conducting a real-time audit to assess the transparency and accountability of resources received and utilised under the Hurricane Melissa relief initiative.

The Pamela Monroe-Ellis-led department is seeking to determine whether internal controls are adequate to prevent any potential fraud, waste and abuse of public resources during disaster response and recovery.

In conducting its audit, the AuGD will assess whether proper information technology controls exist over www.supportjamaica.gov.jm website. The government website was established as the central hub for public donations and volunteer registration.

The audit will also seek to determine whether proper accounting and record-keeping of all donations (including funds and supplies) were received and distributed to affected individuals by the Government. It will also ascertain whether procurement activities complied with the applicable laws, regulations and guidelines.

Under the theme ‘Governance, Procurement and Contracts Management, Project and Resource Management’, the audit is scheduled for publication in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year, ending March 2026. This was posted on the AuGD website.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, causing catastrophic damage on the island, particularly in western parishes.

Along with expected budgetary allocation from the Government, foreign governments and multilateral agencies have pledged funding and humanitarian aid to Jamaica, including provision of relief supplies.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is a statutory body under the Office of the Prime Minister, previously under the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

ODPEM serves as the secretariat to the National Disaster Risk Management Council and has overarching responsibility for disaster risk management across Jamaica.

Under the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management Act, ODPEM is mandated to promote and coordinate disaster preparedness and emergency response by developing and implementing integrated management systems nationwide.

In a Letter to the Editor on Monday, accountability campaigner Jeanette Calder highlighted that there have been public concerns about accountability in the spending of recovery funds.

She recalled that during the COVID-19 crisis, former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke and the AuGD pioneered a real-time audit model that successfully protected public resources.

Calder noted that in times of crisis, speed is essential, but it also increases risk. “Large sums must be disbursed quickly, but traditional audits, conducted months or years later, leave a window for duplication, mispayments, or control failures,” she said.

Last week, Jamaica’s key anti-corruption body, the Integrity Commission, said it would be diligently utilising its monitoring and investigative resources to ensure that any identified acts of corruption or impropriety during the relief and recovery processes are dealt with in accordance with the law.

The anti-corruption agency said that while it recognises the needs are immediate and that the usual strictures of government procurement and related implementation processes may be largely relaxed in keeping with emergency procedures, it is important that proper procedures are followed.

The commission urged all parties responsible for overseeing the different aspects of the aid process to make every effort to ensure that the mechanisms established to provide assistance adhere to the principles of fairness, integrity, accountability, and transparency.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com