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Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management received criticism from the Auditor General’s Department over its handling of donations collected for victims of Hurricane Melissa.
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis found that ODPEM lacked a formal agreement with a private financial services institution regarding the retention of 30 per cent of donated funds to cover possible chargebacks.
The audit revealed that millions of Jamaican and US dollars were withheld beyond the agreed 45-day period, while ODPEM failed to take timely action to enforce payment or secure proper documentation.
The report also sparked concern after auditors disclosed that only $26 million of the $1.44 billion donated for Hurricane Melissa relief had been spent by April 2026, despite ongoing public debate over aid distribution.