Senator Morgan notes that real-time audit reveals over $11 billion being expended in Hurricane relief

Senator Marlon Morgan says the Auditor General’s Report in relation to the spending of donations highlights the need for the NaRRA Government.

Senator and Parliamentary Secretary in the Information Ministry, Senator Marlon Morgan, notes that a real-time audit conducted by the Auditor General’s Department has highlighted that the Government of Jamaica has moved to expend over $11 billion in relation to 420 Hurricane Melissa relief and recovery-related contracts, which are currently underway. 

Senator Morgan says the real-time audit is a useful tool from the point of view of information and accountability. Senator Morgan commented: “What is instructive is that the J$1.4 billion in donations cited in the Auditor General’s Report as being unspent so far is exponentially outstripped by the massive J$11.3 billion that is actually being spent on various relief and recovery initiatives. There can be no denying that in spite of bureaucracy-related red tape which delays project implementation and the expenditure of available funds, the Government has utilised practical and situationally appropriate mechanisms to deliver timely and effective relief for citizens affected by Hurricane Melissa, while ensuring value for money”. 

Senator Morgan added, “The Auditor General’s Report is indicative of the Government’s responsiveness and massive body of work in treating with the passage of Hurricane Melissa, in that it references the J$11.3 billion being expended in relation to some 420 relief and recovery-related contracts that are currently underway.” Senator Morgan says the Auditor General’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative Audit, which found that less than 2 per cent of the $1.44 billion in donations has been spent by ODPEM, is timely.

  “It is a timely and compelling justification of the urgent need for NaRRA. Prime Minister Holness and his Cabinet deserve full commendation for the foresight and pragmatism reflected in the framing of NaRRA to lead Jamaica’s post-Hurricane Melissa reconstruction and resilience building. The Jamaican people should note that the report does not contain any scandalous or damning findings of loss and/or corruption, and in many respects, reaffirms the bureaucracy-related challenges that many Jamaicans are already aware of, and understandably so, have grown impatient with. 

“The public is fully aware that our country’s growth and development are being inhibited, in part, by our stark implementation challenges. What the Auditor General’s Report underscores is that it cannot be business as usual. It affirms that NaRRA will go a far way in helping Jamaica efficiently and effectively utilise available funds in improving the quality of life of the Jamaican people,”  said the young Senator.

Senator Morgan is of the opinion that, from a public education standpoint, the recently concluded NaRRA debate in both Houses of Parliament gave the Jamaican people an opportunity to better appreciate the extent to which public bureaucracy is stifling growth, especially where the procurement rules are concerned. The Government Senator posited that the Auditor General’s report could not have come at a better time, as it underscored the Government’s ‘theory of the case’ during the NaRRA debate. 

Senator Morgan concluded: “As a Government, we did our research and presented data making the case that there is a better way forward in pursuit of reconstruction and resilience building — a 21st-century, fit-for-purpose way that will have a positive impact and deliver transformational results in a timely fashion, while ensuring transparency, probity and accountability. I wish to emphasise the fact that the Report in question is the product of a real-time audit, which is a snapshot in time, and as such, it should be appreciated that post-Hurricane Melissa relief and recovery activities are ongoing; they are not at an end”.