Audit: Jamaica spent 1.8% of donations after Hurricane Melissa — The Rio Times

In Jamaica, a government audit found that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) had spent 26.2 million Jamaican dollars — about US$164,000 — out of 1.44 billion Jamaican dollars in cash donations after Hurricane Melissa as of February 23, 2026. This amounts to 1.8% of the collected sum, and the balance had not changed as of April 2, The Rio Times reports.

Funds and approvals

According to the audit, 141 million Jamaican dollars had been contracted, while 1.27 billion Jamaican dollars, or 88% of all donations, had neither been spent nor earmarked. ODPEM told auditors that it was awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to use the funds.

Auditors also recorded that on February 4, 2026, ODPEM asked the ministry to regularize the use of the fund and planned to direct about 500 million Jamaican dollars toward housing recovery and other donor-designated projects. As of February 23, there had been no response to this request.

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Procurement concerns

ODPEM signed four contracts for roofing materials with a total value of 167.3 million Jamaican dollars. According to the audit, three contracts were awarded to suppliers whose public procurement registration or tax compliance documents were not valid at the time. The agency acknowledged that it had entered into agreements with suppliers who would not normally have met the requirements, citing emergency guidance from the Ministry of Finance.

Materials worth 122.5 million Jamaican dollars were delivered to Jamaica Defence Force bases, but formally confirmed receipt covered goods worth 88.6 million. Auditors found no signed acceptance documents for deliveries worth 34 million Jamaican dollars. ODPEM reported repairing 421 roofs by April 21, but provided insufficient documentation for auditors to verify this figure.

In its May 13 response to the audit, ODPEM said that the low pace of spending cash donations did not mean inaction, as the agency had received nearly 400 million Jamaican dollars in building materials and other goods. It also reported that by that time it had spent about 135 million Jamaican dollars from the fund and completed 461 roof repairs.