“It Is Unconscionable!” Facts Do Not Lie; Opposition rejects government’s attempt to blame bureaucracy for dormant disaster funds

Senator Cleveland Tomlinson, Opposition Deputy Spokesperson on Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness, is calling out the Government’s attempt to hide a clear governance failure behind the convenient excuse of bureaucracy, after the Auditor General confirmed that 88% of $1.44 billion in Hurricane Melissa donations remain uncommitted, with victims still waiting for relief four months after the storm.

The Auditor General’s real-time audit is unambiguous. As at February 23, 2026, four months after Hurricane Melissa made landfall, of $1.44 billion in cash donations received for Hurricane Melissa, only 1.8% had been spent. More critically, 88% of those funds were not merely unspent. They were uncommitted entirely, meaning no plan, no contract, and no obligation existed to deploy them.

“It is unconscionable and scandalous that the Government sat on donated money while thousands of Jamaicans suffered. People were hungry. People were sleeping under damaged roofs or no roofs at all. Families were struggling to rebuild their lives, and the money donated by generous Jamaicans and well-wishers to help them was simply sitting idle going nowhere,” said Senator Tomlinson.

“Bureaucracy slows spending. It does not prevent a government from committing funds to a purpose. The question Jamaicans deserve answered is this: why, four months after Hurricane Melissa, did 88% of donated funds have no commitment whatsoever attached to them?” said Senator Tomlinson.

The audit further reveals that $138.8 million from Hurricane Beryl donations in 2024 remained idle and was never reported to the Ministry of Finance as required by law, a failure that predates any NaRRA conversation entirely. It shows a pattern of inefficiency on the part of the government, not that red tape prevented proper planning.

“Senator Morgan cannot credibly blame red tape for money that was never directed anywhere. These are not bureaucratic delays. This is a governance failure, and Jamaicans who donated in good faith deserve accountability, not spin,” Senator Tomlinson added.

The Opposition calls on the Government to immediately publish a transparent expenditure plan for all outstanding disaster relief funds.