Audit highlights deficiencies in verification of delivery of hurricane relief supplies

The Auditor General’s real-time compliance audit report into the spending of donations to assist hurricane victims in the wake of the category five storm last October, has identified significant delivery verification deficiencies.

Pamela Monroe Ellis, Jamaica’s auditor general, reported that of the $122.5 million in building supplies delivered to Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) locations, only $88.6 million was formally acknowledged as being received by the army, representing 72.2 per cent of total deliveries.

This is set out in an audit report tabled in Parliament Tuesday afternoon.

Further, the guardian of the country’s expenditure highlighted that the remaining $34 million in roofing materials, representing 27.8 per cent of all materials delivered, was not supported by signed delivery slips or Goods Received Notes (GRNs) countersigned by either the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management or a JDF representative. She said this left these deliveries unverified and unacknowledged by the receiving party.

In addition to the delivery verification deficiencies, the auditor general said payment data for two of four contracts remained outstanding as of the date of this report.

Specifically, she said payment confirmation was not provided for the contracts awarded to Supplier No. 2 under Procurement Round 1 (valued at $52.3 million) and to Supplier No. 3 (valued at $56.2 million).

As at March 31, 2026, total contract commitments for roofing materials amounted to $167.3 million, with only $26.2 million in payments verified to date. This leaves $141.1 million in committed expenditure without corresponding confirmed payment documentation.

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