KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has condemned as a “wicked act” the findings of an auditor general report that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) had only spent $26.2 million, or 1.8 per cent, of the $1.44 billion donated following Category 5 Hurricane Melissa as of February 23, 2026.

Speaking at a People’s National Party (PNP) press conference on Monday, Opposition Spokesperson on Social Protection and Social Transformation, Dr Angela Brown Burke, said the scale of devastation caused by the hurricane made the slow use of relief funds especially troubling.

“The scope of the need is staggering. I don’t know how many of us remember that in December last year Red Cross actually estimated that there were 156,000 homes that were damaged and approximately 90,000 families who were directly affected,” she said.

“What this means is that all donations and all funds that would have been received probably still would not have been enough; there would be a gap. That is why what has happened with the $1.44 billion sitting there with no plan is such a wicked act,” Brown Burke continued.

The shadow minister stressed that the donations were intended to provide urgent shelter and assistance to hurricane victims. She argued that the auditor general’s review exposed major weaknesses in governance, oversight and accountability within the relief programme.

“The damning results, millions in funds and materials, cannot be independently verified, and our most vulnerable citizens remain completely unprotected,” she added.

The real-time audit of the Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative, which examined financial management and procurement under the Government’s Roof Restoration Programme (ROOF), also found that $34 million worth of roofing materials could not be properly accounted for due to missing signed delivery slips and goods received notes (GRNs). In addition, $141.1 million in committed expenditure lacked verified payment documentation.

READ: Millions unspent

Brown Burke called on the Government to provide full transparency by publishing a complete list of ROOF programme beneficiaries, including parish-by-parish breakdowns and the criteria used to select recipients.

“We also need independent verification; we should be able to publish an independent technical audit of all reported repairs, and this is extremely important. This is extremely important. You have individuals who would have fixed their own homes with a mixture of support from government and their own efforts, but when they check at the parish office, it says it was done by JDF [Jamaica Defence Force], for example. We have to sort out these things,” she said.

Brown Burke also called for greater respect for persons who seek refuge in shelters as a result of damage to their homes by Hurricane Melissa.

“I am asking the Government to have a conscience and to make sure that we do better for our people,” she added.