Soraya Diase Coffelt and Delegate Stacey Plaskett held an in-depth discussion regarding Coffelt’s concerns about the Government of the Virgin Islands’ financial accountability and transparency pertaining to all federal aid dollars to ensure that money entrusted for the people of the Virgin Islands for hurricane rebuilding is handled properly.
Coffelt had previously sent a letter to Delegate Plaskett, which prompted the discussion. The letter has since been made public by the Committee to Elect Soraya Diase Coffelt Governor.
The Mapp administration and the V. I. Public Finance Authority (VIPFA) are under continuing federal audit scrutiny. The Sept. 29th PFA audit by the Office of the Inspector General for the U. S. Department of Interior revealed mismanagement of $150 million and on-going lax accounting practices that date all the way back to 2002.
Coffelt told Plaskett, “This audit is just the latest in a string of audits establishing waste, mismanagement and fraud.”
Previous questionable practices include the decision by the governor to stop providing financial information to the Bond Rating Agencies in August; missing financial information in the 2016 Government of the V.I. financial report that prohibited the independent auditor in June 2017 from completing its audit; and the utter lack of even basic financial information pertaining to the GVI’s General Fund made available to the public, as required by Virgin Islands law.
“The governor has positioned himself and the small group with whom he surrounds himself to be about the only individuals who know the true state of Virgin Islands’ finances. This is a dangerous situation and places the territory and our people at grave risk,” Coffelt said.
“I will continue to speak out publicly because the people of the Virgin Islands need to understand the importance of fighting continued corruption and protecting their interests.”