Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sheila Sealy Monteith, says there have been no concerns raised over accountability for Hurricane Melissa donations, from Jamaica’s international partners.
Member of Parliament for South East St. Ann, Dr. Kenneth Russell, put the question to the ministry during Thursday’s sitting of Parliament’s Internal and External Affairs Committee.
In a real-time audit tabled in Parliament in May, Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis found that only 1.8 per cent of the $1.44 billion in cash donations for Hurricane Melissa relief had been spent, months after the storm. That is about $26 million.
The donations have since been repurposed to assist post-Melissa reconstruction.
However, Ambassador Monteith says she’s seen no loss of confidence in Jamaica as a result of that issue.
Ambassador Sheila Sealy Monteith, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
