The debate last Thursday in the House of Assembly drew a sharp rebuke from a previous target of Auditor General Sonia Webster. On Tuesday, the Beacon received a statement from …
July 25, 2023
March 16, 2023
Auditor blasts grant programmes
At elected leaders’ discretion, the government awarded nearly $23 million in assistance grants between January 2019 and May 2022 without adequate accountability or transparency, including more than $200,000 to one …
March 13, 2023
EDITORIAL: The auditor general is a hero. Heed her advice.
When will politicians learn? Once again, Auditor General Sonia Webster has carried out her mandate with exacting professionalism. In two recent reports that should make taxpayers’ blood boil, she alleged …
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March 9, 2023
Report slams Skelton-Cline contracts
When tabling an auditor general report that alleges consultant Claude Skelton-Cline did little to deliver contracted work for the government despite receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars over two and …
March 2, 2023
EZ Shipping barges cost government $2 million
The government paid $2.04 million to EZ Shipping Limited to rent barges for five months of border security services in 2020 and 2021 — including $738,000 for about two months …
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September 12, 2022
Government auditors get new teeth
The recent Commission of Inquiry reported finding evidence that the Premier’s Office under former Premier Andrew Fahie may have obstructed government auditors investigating Covid-19 assistance programmes. A new law is …
January 24, 2022
2017 gov’t audits promised soon
The Office of the Auditor General has received and reviewed the Treasury Department’s financial statements for 2017 and hoped to have long-delayed audits for that year completed in 2021, Auditor …
July 8, 2021
EDITORIAL: Big up the auditor general for stimulus report
We have reported extensively about the injustice and egregious lack of transparency surrounding the government’s Covid-19 economic stimulus package. The reality, it seems, is even worse than we thought. Our …
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July 2, 2021
Auditor general blasts farmer, fisher grants
The Premier’s Office “deliberately resisted” providing information on “excessive amounts” spent on the Covid-19 farming and fishing stimulus despite numerous requests from Auditor General Sonia Webster, she told the Commission …
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July 3, 2020
Speaker requests apology from governor
Speaker of the House Julian Willock kicked off the 11th sitting of the House of Assembly on June 26 by seeking a formal apology from Governor Gus Jaspert regarding a …
June 15, 2020
Special Report: Auditor general condemns BVI Airways deal
When then-Premier Dr. Orlando Smith unveiled a partnership with BVI Airways in January 2016, he promised that government’s $7 million “investment” in the no-bid deal would bring much-needed direct flights …
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June 12, 2020
House nixes motion to censure governor
Last week in the House of Assembly, elected leaders delayed the Consumer Protection Bill and other government business and spent at least 10 hours debating a motion to “reprimand” Governor …
May 16, 2020
Deadline missed for BVI Airways report
The auditor general’s special report on the government’s failed deal with BVI Airways was required by law to be tabled in the House of Assembly no later than last Thursday. …
December 17, 2018
EDITORIAL: ESHS wall is one example of a much bigger problem
After the auditor general’s scathing report on the Elmore Stoutt High School perimeter wall, Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn and his ministry should have apologised and promised to do …
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October 29, 2018
Walwyn’s ESHS wall project broke the law, audit states
The Ministry of Education and Culture, led by Minister Myron Walwyn, broke the law when constructing the incomplete perimeter wall around Elmore Stoutt High School in 2014 and 2015, overspending …
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September 17, 2018
Audits criticise “pervasive” government contract splitting
In 2012, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour issued four contracts for the development of the now-nonoperational BVI Fishing Complex, covering the installation of equipment such as walk-in freezers, …
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