Auditor General audit finds bulk of $1.44B Melissa relief cash at ODPEM still unspent, cites Finance clearance and control lapses

Jamaica's Auditor General has published findings that paint a patchy picture of how hurricane assistance money is tracked and used, with large sums still on hand long after givers sent help.

Between the storm date of October 28, 2025, and February 23, 2026, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) banked $1.44 billion in cash gifts tied to Hurricane Melissa. Spending from that pool reached $26.2 million, equal to 1.8 per cent of the total. ODPEM told auditors the small outflow reflected that it had not yet received clearance from the Ministry of Finance to start drawing down the balance.

Examiners also looked at a financial services institution (FSI) that runs the Support Jamaica giving site. More than $15.7 million and US$298,429 stayed with that firm past the contracted 45-day window, the report states. Auditors saw no written contract spelling out the setup, and they did not get bank papers that would verify the money's eventual move in March 2026.

Separately, the file notes that upward of $138.8 million left over from Hurricane Beryl donations was rolled forward without the legally required notice to the Ministry of Finance.

On the National Disaster Fund (NDF), reviewers said stewardship still falls short of the Disaster Risk Management Act 2015. As of February 2026 the fund held $136 million in cash and $293 million parked in investments. For at least five years it has not gone through a stand-alone audit, annual statements were missing for 2023 through 2025, and there is still no bank account used only for NDF work. Instead, NDF movements sit in ODPEM's capital account together with an unrelated JICA-funded project.

The Auditor General's office wants ODPEM to draw up a clear plan for how relief cash will be spent, put its FSI deal in writing, ring-fence NDF banking, and sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security so picking who gets aid and watching programmes run more tightly.

The Auditor General's Department has circulated a concurrent compliance audit of the Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative, weighing money controls and the Government-directed Roof Restoration Programme.