Donations debacle - ODPEM cited for poor management, in critical areas, of funds donated to aid hurricane victims

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) got a failing grade from the Auditor General’s Department for the financial management of funds donated to assist the victims of Hurricane Melissa that devastated western and southern sections of the country on October 28, 2025.

Examining the systems and practices of the ODPEM in relation to the financial management of donated funds, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis signalled that the relief agency performed poorly in two critical areas and, in a third instance, barely met the criteria in carrying out its mandate.

First, the auditor general said ODPEM did not have a formal agreement to govern the retention of donated funds.

The auditor general explained that standard financial management practices require formal agreements for the retention of funds and timely release of donations after the agreed holding period.

She said ODPEM is expected to actively monitor, assess, and recover funds in accordance with established agreements to ensure effective stewardship and accountability.

On October 28, 2025, the Government established the ‘Support Jamaica’ website to facilitate public donations for Hurricane Melissa relief. Online transactions were managed by a private financial services institution (FSI), which acted as the financial intermediary responsible for transferring funds to ODPEM’s bank accounts.

One month later, and also on February 26, 2026, the auditor general requested confirmation from the FSI regarding the total donations collected and the subsequent remittances made to ODPEM.

A review of the FSI’s confirmations revealed that approximately $72.5 million and US$1.4 million gross donations were collected between October 28, 2025 and February 23, 2026. The FSI reportedly deducted from the gross donations a net transaction fee of US $0.25 per transaction, a commission fee of 3.9 per cent on gross donations collected, and 15 per cent general consumption tax (GCT) applied to the commission, in line with the sub-merchant agreement signed by ODPEM and the FSI on July 8, 2024.

In a real-time Hurricane Melissa relief initiative audit which was tabled in Parliament last week, the auditor general said that following the deductions, the FSI retained 30 per cent of the remaining funds for a 45-day holding period to cover potential bank chargebacks. At the end of this period, the retained amounts are to be released to ODPEM, net of any actual chargeback claims.

Consequently, as at February 23, 2026, the FSI indicated that net amounts of $52.9 million and US$1.05 million (representing approximately 73 per cent of the total collections in each currency) were transferred to ODPEM’s bank accounts.

Auditors sought to determine the basis and the authority for the retention of the amounts withheld as this was not contained in the signed sub-merchant agreement.

However, the auditor general said it was observed that the ODPEM did not have in place a formal agreement with the FSI governing the retention of 30 per cent of net donations for 45 days to cover potential bank chargebacks.

ODPEM presented an email correspondence from the FSI to ODPEM’s (acting) director of finance and manager of information systems. The correspondence stated that due to a number of donation transactions that have been flagged as suspicious, “that an amount of 30 per cent is retained by FSI on total donations for a period of 45 days and upon the expiration of that 45-day period, the amount retained will be released, net of any chargeback claims sent in by the bank”.

However, the auditor general noted that the ODPEM did not submit any evidence to demonstrate approval of the proposal or the existence of a formal agreement between the parties.

Notwithstanding, the FSI did not transfer the amounts withheld to ODPEM in accordance with the proposed arrangement.

In addition, the auditor general found no evidence that ODPEM made any attempts to enforce the 45-day arrangement.

The audit revealed that $15.7 million and US$298,429 withheld from October 2025- December 31, 2025 were due for payment as at February 15, 2026.

In this regard, the auditor general requested confirmation on February 26, 2026 from the FSI regarding the amounts withheld in a context where the auditor general’s review of ODPEM records showed no withheld funds were received up to February 23, 2026.

On March 9, 2026, the FSI confirmed to auditors that none of the withheld amounts were transferred to ODPEM’s Jamaican-dollar or US-dollar accounts, but indicated that the funds were in the process of being cleared for payment.

“We expect that all amounts donated for Hurricane Melissa will be accounted for in full by ODPEM and lodged to the deposit accounts in keeping with MoFPS’s Circular No. 17 dated June 10, 2013.”

The auditor general reported that on March 13, 2026, ODPEM provided a bank transfer receipt dated March 9, 2026, amounting to $16.1 million and US$305,292.46 from the FSI for the amounts withheld. However, she said the ODPEM’s bank statements confirming actual deposits in the bank accounts were not presented.

Further, the auditor general said no evidence was found that ODPEM took timely or effective action to enforce compliance with the proposed arrangement, despite significant delays of between 22 and 83 days beyond the proposed transfer timeline.

“The absence of a formal written agreement limits ODPEM’s ability to enforce claims in the event of disputes,” she added.

In its response, the ODPEM stated, “In alignment with the directive to reconcile the donation account, the matter of the informal agreement regarding the retention of 30 per cent of net donations for 45 days to cover potential bank chargebacks will be addressed, and the necessary steps taken to have a written agreement in place.”

Setting out the criteria for the use of donated funds, the auditor general said money collected for disaster response are expected to be used promptly and transparently, in accordance with established expenditure plans and donor intent.

There has been intense national debate on whether the Government has moved with alacrity to spend funds donated to assist hurricane victims. The raging debate stems from a key finding by the auditor general that the ODPEM received $1.44 billion in cash donations and only spent $26 million, or 1.8 per cent, as at April 2, 2026.

Another significant finding unveiled by the auditor general is that ODPEM did not disclose, to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, amounts received and unspent in respect of Hurricane Beryl, though $138.8 million and US$0.1 million remained unused from cash donations collected in response to the 2024 hurricane prior to the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The Financial Administration and Audit Act Financial Instructions Section 9.4(i) states that where approved donation of cash is received for purposes specified by the donor, ministries, departments and agencies shall lodge the funds to its deposit bank account, advise the Ministry of Finance and request its incorporation in the estimates of expenditure or supplementary estimates as appropriation-in-aid. 

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