Pests, mould destroy $4m in relief supplies at ODPEM

Nearly $4 million in relief supplies meant for Jamaicans affected by local disasters have been lost due to inadequate storage facilities at sites managed by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

A performance audit of ODPEM, done by the Auditor General’s Department and presented in Parliament on Tuesday, revealed that ODPEM failed to replace defective storage units. This led to the deterioration of relief supplies, which were damaged by mould and pests, as identified by a team of auditors during site visits from October 2023 to January 2024.

Additionally, despite identifying the need to replace the central air-conditioning unit at its headquarters in 2019 and receiving $32.84 million for its procurement, ODPEM did not replace the unit. Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis pointed out that this resulted in the funds remaining unused for more than five years and the closure of the head office for about two months in 2023 due to air quality issues.

The audit also highlighted delays in replacing the main server, whose useful life ended in 2019. As a result, the agency’s off-site IT backup system was rendered inactive due to frequent service disruptions.

FINDINGS

In terms of governance, the audit found a lack of coordination between ODPEM’s board and management.

The board had not approved the agency’s strategic and operational plans for 2020-21 to 2022-23, which delayed the execution of key projects critical to disaster mitigation and response.

Furthermore, ODPEM’s management failed to submit annual reports and audited financial statements for the period of 2018-19 to 2022-23, as required by the Disaster Risk Management Act and the Public Bodies Management and Accountability (PBMA) Act. This omission hindered the board’s ability to effectively oversee the agency’s operations and hold management to account.

Monroe Ellis emphasised that the delayed reports, which were eventually submitted in 2024, are vital for transparency in public financial management and essential for effective oversight by both the board and the local government ministry.

“The absence of these reports posed a risk to effectively monitoring the entity to determine whether it was fulfilling its mandate,” the auditor general added.

Turning to human resource management challenges affecting the agency, the auditor general reported that the ODPEM struggled with recruitment challenges, high staff turnover, and health hazards within its offices, all of which affected its operational efficiency.

During fiscal years 2018-19 to 2023-24, ODPEM experienced 36 staff separations, with 14 occurring in 2022-23; twenty-two new employees were hired in the period under review. Thirty-five per cent of its 23 technical positions remained vacant, with two temporarily filled.

Monroe Ellis reported that recruitment was further halted on September 13, 2022, following the discovery of mould in ODPEM’s building, stemming from inspections in 2022.

“This pause in hiring had a direct impact on ODPEM’s ability to meet key operational targets, including the development of disaster risk management plans at the parish level due to unfilled regional coordinator positions,” she added.

ODPEM is funded from the Consolidated Fund, with a total allocation of $1.946 billion spanning from 2018-19 to 2022-23. For the five-year review period, employee compensation accounted for $931 million – or 48 per cent of the total budget. Meanwhile, goods and services received $295 million, or 15 per cent of the total budget.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com