Gov't investigating self on ports project scandal!
Further, the Premier said all payments owed to former project coordinator Hugh E. Darley have been settled and if the American still feels aggrieved then he can seek recourse by either engaging the Government or through the courts.
The Premier made the surprise announcement yesterday January 21, 2016 while speaking at a press conference held at the Central Administration Complex during which he dealt with a number of pressing national issues.
“As you know since the cruise pier project began a few years ago there has been quite a lot of discussion about it and in order to be able to be transparent I decided to do an audit. I do not want to continue to be listening to rumours which are totally false and this is why that I want to put everything to rest.”
He said he was not yet ready to disclose the name of the company doing the audit but said that it was an international company.
'All payments were made to Mr Darley'
Darley, the President of I D E A Inc., had released bombshells regarding the project, saying the people did not get value for money and that he was not paid in full for his drawings used for the project.
He also lambasted the Government for the present state of the project and said that there was no way the opening, postponed from December 2015 to February 2016, was going to make the new date. He made allegations of overspending of up to $10 million on the project and that the project cost was ballooning over and above what had been originally estimated.
Darley had also accused Premier Smith of censuring his Ministers so that they would have nothing to say to him (Darley).
On the allegations of Hugh E. Darley, Premier Smith said that as far as he was aware, all debts to Darley had been settled.
“As far as I know there is no truth to those rumours. Whatever was owed to Mr Darley was as far as I know paid to the company that he was involved with. If Mr Darley thinks there is something else that he is due, he has recourse. He has to make his request or his presentation to government or to the courts. He has made his presentations in the news but that does not represent a presentation to Government,” he said.
Meanwhile, this news site has been pressing Mr Darley to provide his so called evidence he claims he has but has not acknowledged our requests.
We want a Commission of Inquiry - Report
A report of the Public Accounts Committee, which was leaked to selective media houses in June 2014, provided evidence and documentation on how the Ports Pier Project was conducted and the many red flags raised.
This report had recommended that the Governor appoint a Commission of Inquiry to examine the propriety of the process through which the Cruise Ship Port Development was handled, in the view of the evidence gathered during the Public Accounts Committee Process which clearly show;
i. Disregard for public process in the procurement of a major public project;
ii. Absence of transparency in the handling of the public business;
iii. Engagement of companies, consultants and individuals without sourcing alternatives;
iv. Consistent and ongoing association between parties representing the Government side and the contractors through processes that were deficient in achieving any positive public purpose yet incurring ongoing and unjustified cost to the public purse.
The PAC reports also made allegations of the breaking of laws of the Virgin Islands in which it stated on page 31, 1 in the summary that “the government spent two years and countless resources engaging processes that were contrary to Public Financial Management Regulations, in contravention of the BVI Ports Authority Act, non-transparent and untenable.”
The PAC Report also blasted the Minister for Communications and Works Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool (R4) for what it described as his “failure to confer with the Authority on the Cruise Ship Port Project”…as a result this “led to a costly redesign for the Government and the Authority in terms of time and resources.”
PAC endorsed Auditor General Sonia M. Webster’s Report
In 2013 the then Virgin Islands Auditor General Ms. Sonia M. Webster conducted her own investigations of the Ports Development Project.
One of the revelations in the Auditor General Report is that the developer recommended and approved by the National Democratic Party Government, the Tortola Pier Park (TPP) Group, had named the BVI Investment Club as its local partner, page 11 (61).
The Auditor General's Report on the Ports Development Project unearthed corruption, conflict of interest, disregard for the laws of the Virgin Islands, unfair practices, undue influence in favour of one developer, disregard for the established tendering process and found that no one was looking out for the interest of the people and taxpayers of the Virgin Islands, putting the people at a disadvantage.
Despite all of the earlier evidence from the two reports and numerous persons speaking to the media and revealing certain information, Governor John S. Duncan did not see it fit to appoint a commission of Inquiry.
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30 Responses to “Gov't investigating self on ports project scandal!”
Can't even produce accounts, budgets or a census.
How are they going to be able to investigate anything.
The Government has no information to look at.
Gee!!!
The Virgin Islands political elites - VIP/ NDP, cronies and other side kicks alike, have led this country to the brink of bankruptcy- The Pier Park, Admin Road - NHI, Sea Cows Bay mess, road digging up and repaving etc....are all consequences of an environment in which OUR SO CALLED LEADERS know That they will never be held accountable for the debts they incur in OUR names. This represents a very serious long-term threat to the Virgin Islands as we have known it to be.