Jamaica Had Spent 1.8% of Melissa Donations

JAMAICA · HURRICANE MELISSA · RELIEF FUNDS

Jamaica had spent only 1.8% of the cash donated after Hurricane Melissa by April, a state audit found, and a think tank report due on Wednesday, as the Jamaica Gleaner describes it, says relief delivery is still lagging a year on.

Jamaica had spent only J$26.2 million (about US$164,000), or 1.8%, of the J$1.44 billion (about US$9.0 million) in cash donations it received after Hurricane Melissa by 23 February 2026, the Auditor General’s Department found in an audit tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, 12 May 2026. The balance had not changed by 2 April, the audit says, and a report by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) that the Jamaica Gleaner described on Sunday, 25 October 2026 repeats the figures.

CAPRI will launch the full report in Montego Bay on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, the first anniversary of Melissa’s landfall as a Category 5 hurricane. For US readers who donated, sent supplies or plan to visit, the question is how fast relief reaches people, since the report, as the Gleaner describes it, says about 80 public schools were still teaching in tents or on rotation a year after the storm.

ODPEM, which holds the money, answered the audit on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, saying the low cash spending was “not due to inaction” and reflected donated building materials already on hand. It said about J$135 million (about US$846,000) had been spent from the fund by then and that it had started further measures to strengthen documentation and reconciliation.

What the Audit Found

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) received J$1.44 billion (about US$9.0 million) in cash for Melissa through the Support Jamaica website and direct donations, of which US$6.1 million arrived in US dollars, the audit says. Only J$26.2 million (about US$164,000) had been spent by 23 February 2026, all of it on roofing materials, and the balance was unchanged on 2 April.

ODPEM’s own records show J$141 million (about US$883,000) committed and J$1.27 billion (about US$7.9 million), or 88%, neither spent nor committed. ODPEM told the auditors that spending waited on approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

The audit records a letter from ODPEM to the ministry dated 4 February 2026, more than three months after the storm, that sought to regularise the funds and said ODPEM planned to use about J$500 million (about US$3.1 million) on shelter recovery and other donor-requested projects, with no reply by 23 February. The audit also found that the Beryl money, raised for the 2024 storm, was not reported to the ministry as the financial rules require, which ODPEM acknowledged.

How the Donation Website Handled the Money

The Support Jamaica website, launched on 28 October 2025, was run for ODPEM by a private financial services company that the audit does not name. By 23 February 2026 it had collected about J$72.5 million (about US$454,000) and US$1.43 million in gross donations.

The company said some transactions had been flagged as suspicious, but ODPEM had no formal agreement for the holdback, the audit found. A transfer receipt dated 9 March 2026 shows the J$15.7 million (about US$98,000) and US$298,429 withheld from October to December 2025 was sent between 22 and 83 days after the proposed dates, but the auditors could not confirm the money reached ODPEM’s accounts.

ODPEM told the auditors it will put a written agreement in place, but the audit found no sign that it had tried to enforce the 45-day arrangement. The audit adds that without a written agreement ODPEM has little power to enforce its claims in a dispute.

Gaps in the Roof Repair Programme

ODPEM awarded four roofing-material contracts worth J$167.3 million (about US$1.05 million), and three went to suppliers whose procurement registration or tax compliance papers were not valid at the time, the audit found. ODPEM acknowledged that it issued contracts to suppliers who “would not ordinarily have been eligible”, and said it relied on a Finance Ministry emergency guidance note of 12 November 2025.

The J$26.2 million spent from donations was a 50% advance to one supplier on 19 December 2025, and the audit’s procurement table notes that the supplier’s bid arrived 14 minutes after the stated deadline. Of that supplier’s J$46.1 million (about US$289,000) in deliveries, only J$12.09 million (about US$76,000), or 26.3%, was backed by a delivery slip signed by a defence force member.

ODPEM supplied no damage assessments, selection reasons or completion reports for the 421 roofs, so the figure could not be checked. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which identifies the households, told the audit that “verification of construction works” is not part of its role.

How the Disaster Agency Responded

In a press release issued on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, the day after the audit was tabled, ODPEM said the relatively low rate of cash spending “was not due to inaction or a lack of recovery activity”. It said the pace reflected almost J$400 million (about US$2.5 million) in donated building materials and sundries that had reduced the need to buy similar supplies with cash.

ODPEM added that the J$135 million went to the Government-Directed Roof Repair Programme and that 461 roof repairs were complete, compared with the 421 the auditors were told of on 21 April. It also said J$600 million (about US$3.8 million) of the donated money is earmarked for concrete bases for modular housing units under the Shelter Recovery Programme.

ODPEM also said that all roofing materials it bought had been accounted for and entered in its inventory system, and that two delivery slips carried only the signature of the Jamaica Defence Force because the deliveries came outside working hours. The release says the agency is reinforcing delivery checks, but it does not say whether the Finance Ministry has since approved the February request to use the funds.

What the Think Tank Adds a Year On

CAPRI’s report, as the Gleaner describes it, puts the total cost of Melissa at J$1.95 trillion (about US$12.2 billion), which it calls the costliest disaster in Jamaica’s recorded history, with about 85,000 homes damaged or destroyed. It argues that Jamaica “arranged its disaster financing in advance, but its disaster delivery after the fact”, because beneficiary records, vulnerability registers and donation-handling procedures did not exist or had not been made to work.

The Gleaner adds that the labour ministry had recorded 118,365 household assessments and 49,002 beneficiaries of its Restoration of Owner-Occupied Family Shelter (ROOFS) programme as at September 2026, and that the deadline to redeem Phase One grants was extended to 31 December 2026. The education ministry reported that 92% of schools were at full capacity when the 2026-2027 term opened last month, and the Jamaica Observer reported on Friday, 23 October 2026 that the oversight committee chairman counted 682 affected schools, fewer than CAPRI’s 721 damaged, and that 63 of the worst-hit were fully rebuilt.

What It Means for You

Americans who gave through the Support Jamaica website should know that the audit found fees of 3.9% plus US$0.25 per gift, plus tax on the commission, and that most of the money was still unspent by April. ODPEM told the auditors it is strengthening its tracking and reporting and will put the payment arrangement in writing.

Travellers should check the State Department’s Jamaica advisory, issued on 23 June 2026, which is Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, for crime and health and no longer carries a natural disaster risk indicator. The unfinished repairs CAPRI describes are concentrated in western parishes, where the Gleaner says principals reported incomplete repairs and undelivered furniture in the first week of the new term.

For Jamaicans abroad and for investors in a storm-hit economy, the open question is whether the registers, written agreements and verification steps the audit found missing are in place before the next hurricane season. The Gleaner reports that the labour ministry said last week it is working with communities and payment providers to help beneficiaries access outstanding grants.

What Is Not Known

The full CAPRI report was not public on Sunday, so its findings are known only as the Gleaner describes them, and the 1.8% figure dates from the audit’s cut-off in February and April 2026. The latest spending figure available is ODPEM’s own, about J$135 million (about US$846,000) as of 13 May 2026, and no later figure from ODPEM or the Finance Ministry had been published by Sunday morning.

It is not known whether the Finance Ministry approved the request of 4 February 2026, since the audit records no reply by 23 February. The audit does not name the foreign military support team that reportedly repaired 149 of the roofs, and no agreement with it was shown to the auditors.

No response from the government to CAPRI’s report had been published by Sunday morning. It is also unclear how many ROOFS grants have been redeemed, because the labour ministry’s September figures count assessments and beneficiaries, not finished repairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much of the Hurricane Melissa donations has Jamaica spent?

The Auditor General found J$26.2 million (about US$164,000), or 1.8%, of J$1.44 billion (about US$9.0 million) spent as at 23 February 2026. The balance was unchanged on 2 April, and ODPEM said on 13 May that about J$135 million (about US$846,000) had been spent.

What is the CAPRI report on Hurricane Melissa?

CAPRI is a Kingston policy research institute whose report, Higher Ground, will be launched in Montego Bay on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. The Jamaica Gleaner described its findings on Sunday, 25 October 2026.

Who holds Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa donations?

ODPEM, Jamaica’s disaster agency, holds the cash in Jamaican-dollar and US-dollar accounts and told the auditors it needed Finance Ministry approval to spend it. The audit says it asked for that approval on 4 February 2026.

How were gifts to the Support Jamaica website treated?

The audit says the payment company deducted a 3.9% commission, US$0.25 per transaction and 15% tax on the commission. It also held back 30% of net donations for 45 days without a written agreement.

Is it safe for Americans to visit Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa?

The State Department rates Jamaica Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, because of crime and health risks, and no longer carries a natural disaster indicator. The advisory was issued on 23 June 2026.

Sources: Jamaica Gleaner, 25 October 2026, Auditor General’s Department, report page, tabled 12 May 2026, Auditor General’s Department, full audit report, May 2026, Auditor General’s Department, key findings summary, ODPEM, press release of 13 May 2026, Bank of Jamaica, foreign exchange rates of 23 October 2026, US State Department, Jamaica travel advisory issued 23 June 2026, Jamaica Observer, 23 October 2026, Caribbean Policy Research Institute. All retrieved 25 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief