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ODPEM Director General Commander Alvin Gayle
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ODPEM Director General Commander Alvin Gayle responding to PAC member Peter Bunting and PAC chairman Julian Robinson
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is yet to submit signed documents to the Auditor General confirming that the Jamaica Defence Force received $34 million in donated roofing materials.
The revelation was made on Tuesday during a meeting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where members continued, for a second week, a review of the Auditor General's Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative Audit report.
In the report, which was tabled in May, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis stated that of the $122.5 million in Hurricane Melissa building supplies delivered to JDF locations, only $88.6 million was formally acknowledged as being received by the army, representing 72.2 per cent of total deliveries.
According to the Auditor General, the remaining $34 million in roofing materials was not supported by delivery slips or goods received notes countersigned by either the ODPEM or JDF representative, leaving these deliveries unverified by the receiving party.
PAC member Peter Bunting asked whether it was usual for the JDF to not sign for supplies received.
ODPEM Director General Commander Alvin Gayle indicated that the JDF had signed a document after receiving the supplies.
He said the ODPEM representative was not at the location at the "material time" to sign for the materials.
"What the Auditor General is saying is different from what you are saying. You said you feel confident based on your internal checks that they were in fact received, but the evidence has not been provided to the Auditor General, to their satisfaction, on the $34 million," PAC Chairman Julian Robinson pointed out.
"So chair, what I will do, I'll have the document as I saw it presented. But as indicated, there were physical checks subsequently to the matter at hand, and we are confident that even if the document didn't exist, the delivery was made," insisted Commander Gayle.
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