KPMG’s ongoing audit into the finances of the Tortola Pier Park is supposed to be finished sometime this summer, according to Premier Dr. Orlando Smith.
Responding to a House of Assembly inquiry from Opposition Leader Andrew Fahie (R-D1), Dr. Smith (R-at large) explained on Tuesday that the project’s timeline is, however, dependent on how long it takes for the international firm to secure and analyse a large number of documents.
“It is therefore the intention to carry out the substantial portion of the work and complete it during the summer period,” he said.
The comment represents the latest in a long string of promised timelines for the audit, which Dr. Smith announced more than 18 months ago to address the “rumours” about the $85 million-plus TPP project.
After government contracted KPMG, the premier said in May 2016 that he expected the probe to be finished within about three months.
About three months later, then-Governor John Duncan said during an August press conference that he expected the audit report to be released “in the coming weeks.”
However, Dr. Smith disclosed this April that the audit did not actually begin until September 2016, and the Governor’s Office informed the Beacon that the governor had not known that at the time of his August 2016 statement.
On Tuesday, Mr. Fahie followed up by asking if all the information KPMG requested had been acquired.
Dr. Smith replied that not all the information requested had been received, but that “the information that was received was satisfactory to them.”
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