The People’s National Party (PNP) has rejected claims that the Auditor General’s report on the slow spending of Hurricane Melissa relief funds further justifies the need for the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA).

The Opposition argued instead that the findings exposed poor planning and the absence of a proper expenditure strategy for disaster recovery funds.

Speaking at a press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition on Monday, Opposition Senator Cleveland Tomlinson pushed back against recent Government suggestions that bureaucracy was primarily responsible for the slow pace of spending identified in the Auditor General’s Real-Time Audit of the Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative.