ODPEM strengthens stock controls after Auditor General flags Hurricane Melissa relief gaps

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) says it has reinforced its stock-control framework so that it now conforms with the Government of Jamaica’s Comprehensive Asset Management Policy of 2020.

The move comes after an Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) assessment earlier this year identified serious breaches and weaknesses in ODPEM’s Compliance and Information Technology Audit Reports covering the Government’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative. The Auditor General had singled out inventory oversight, and ODPEM has accepted that tougher safeguards are required and that work to put the necessary procedures fully in place is already in progress.

In a submission to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), ODPEM stated, “These steps include the continued use of receipt and issue vouchers to preserve an adequate transaction trail, the regularisation and updating of inventory records for relief supplies and devices, the ongoing development of the Disaster Management Information System (DMIS) inventory module to support more complete real-time asset recording and reporting, and the post-Hurricane Melissa review of ODPEM’s Inventory Management Policy, Inventory Management Standard Operating Procedure, and Warehouse Manual for full operational enforcement.”

The agency pointed to commodities worth $59.6 million and 200 Starlink units worth $12.12 million that the AuGD had highlighted. Those items are now shown in ODPEM’s inventory ledgers.

ODPEM said its Logistics Team is still placing priority on bringing the SAGE 300 system up to date, citing its link to the organisation’s accounting platform and its importance for finishing required year-end audit work. “Concurrently, the DMIS inventory module is undergoing continuous testing and validation to ensure its functionality, interoperability, and operational readiness. The following segments of the DMIS inventory module are set to be fully operational at the start of Q2 2026,” ODPEM declared.

Features covering supply replenishment, last-mile delivery, advanced dashboards, cash tracking, partner integration, and a mobile application are scheduled for rollout across the second and third quarters of 2026.

The Auditor General’s report, laid in Parliament five months ago, found that food, tarpaulins, and water valued at $59.6 million did not appear in ODPEM’s inventory or stores documentation, pointing to weak arrangements for logging, monitoring, and reconciling stocks and assets.

According to the AuGD report, “these deficiencies undermine accountability, management oversight, and the reliability of financial reporting and persist despite similar issues having been highlighted by the Auditor General’s Department in July 2024, as well as statutory requirements under the Disaster Risk Management Act.”

ODPEM told auditors that its warehouse still relies on paper receipt and issue vouchers before information is keyed into an electronic system—an account that conflicted with earlier claims that SAGE 300 handled inventory management. Auditors were not shown proof that the electronic records were later brought current. Although ODPEM said the update would be finished by 9 January 2026, the work remained unfinished and no firm date for full completion had been set.

Of the 200 Starlink devices purchased, 120 went to 17 organisations, yet only 13 of those organisations acknowledged receiving 86 units. Checks at eight organisations found that all 41 devices inspected were unused and still stored. Five organisations had not listed the units in their asset registers, while three municipal corporations said the devices never entered municipal inventory and were handed straight to Councillors.