KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) is calling on the Government to publish a comprehensive account of expenditure on Hurricane Melissa recovery and reconstruction, raising concerns about spending decisions and the transparency of school rehabilitation projects nearly one year after the disaster.

In a statement marking the first anniversary of the hurricane on Wednesday, the PNPYO said Jamaicans deserved clear information on how public funds had been spent, the progress of recovery projects and the resources still required to assist affected communities.

The organisation also questioned the timing of recently announced restrictions on government vehicle purchases, overseas travel and discretionary expenditure, including Christmas celebrations, which Prime Minister Andrew Holness said would help redirect resources towards recovery.

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While acknowledging the measures, the PNPYO questioned why they were being introduced almost a year after the hurricane, noting that vehicle purchases and official travel had continued during the intervening period.

The organisation called on the Government to disclose how much had been spent on those activities, whether the expenditure was necessary and how much the new restrictions were expected to save. It also urged the administration to explain how the projected savings would be redirected towards communities still awaiting assistance.

The PNPYO argued that without specific figures and a clear plan for reallocating the funds, the public would be unable to assess the likely impact of the measures on the national recovery effort.

The organisation also raised concerns about transparency in the rehabilitation of hurricane-damaged schools, pointing to figures published in a full-page advertisement by the Ministry of Education and the National Education Trust (NET) in the October 25 edition of The Sunday Gleaner.

It said the advertisement featured before-and-after photographs of rehabilitated schools and reported that 144 of 308 priority one schools had been restored, with $9.19 billion spent to date.

While acknowledging the reported progress, the PNPYO questioned the absence of the comprehensive public dashboard that Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon announced in July.

According to the organisation, the minister had indicated that information on schools undergoing repairs, contractors, project costs and expected completion dates would be published online and updated every two weeks.

The PNPYO said that although NET had released reports organised by priority level, the public still needed an accessible and regularly updated register covering every hurricane-damaged school.

It argued that a centralised platform would allow parents, teachers, school administrators and taxpayers to monitor the progress of individual projects and assess whether rehabilitation was proceeding according to schedule.

“This transparency is equally important to Jamaicans at home and abroad, businesses and organisations contributing to NET’s Adopt-A-School initiative, who deserve to know how their support is being utilised and what it has achieved,” the PNPYO said.

The PNPYO urged the Government to publish a detailed report on recovery spending, completed projects, outstanding works and the resources still needed to address the effects of Hurricane Melissa.

“The question is not simply how much has been spent, but where the money has gone, what it has delivered and whether those most in need are receiving assistance?” it said, adding, “One year later, Jamaicans deserve the full picture. Not selective photographs, not scattered reports and certainly not accountability by public relations.”