ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- The Auditor General Sonia M. Webster is at it again with what has been described as another inaccurate Auditor General’s Report, this time on the House of Assembly’s Covid-19 Assistance Grants given out by Members of the Fourth House of Assembly (HoA).
Opposition Member Hon Melvin M. Turnbull (R2) defended all his grants and cleared the air regarding giving support to a member in his district who happens to be the sister of an elected Member.
Nowhere in the rules does it state that family members of elected officials were not eligible for grants, and it is a known fact that the entire territory faced hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For his part, Opposition Member and veteran legislator Hon Julian Fraser (R3) also strongly defended his grants distribution and explained the small improvement to his office for safety measures, in light of the deadly pandemic that had many residents afraid.
All elected Members who spoke at the Second Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on Thursday, July 13, 2023, when the report was laid on the table of the House, agreed that the Auditor General “took issues way out of context and left the wrong impression with the public that elected members did something illegal or wrong”.
In addition, none of the elected officials were even interviewed to seek an accurate picture.
Was there a motive?
This has raised many concerns with the public and social commentators over the legitimacy of Ms Webster’s report, which was requested by Governor John J. Rankin, CMG.
Minister for Communications and Works Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5) noted that he “had no issues with the audit of his funds” but there were instances where Ms Webster failed to explain some of her figures.
In addition, the Minister for Health and Social Development Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9) noted that he “did not collect a dime for using his own private office”.
In his wrap-up, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) noted that he “begged for residents’ names to be redacted from the document” but without success. He opined that “There’s nothing in the guidelines that said persons who were public servants couldn’t get grants. So why are these persons being embarrassed for getting a grant?” Premier Wheatley asked.
He said at least “the report did not find any corruption in the distribution of the funds”. Many believe this report is another part of the witch-hunt to go after the political class, when in fact all they were trying to do was help residents in the middle of a deadly Covid-19 pandemic that shut down economies all over the world. The Virgin Islands was not immune to the adverse effects of the pandemic.
This is not the first time Ms Webster has done reports labeled as one-sided; however, all Members speaking noted that they support the work of the Auditor General.
