A magistrate tossed out charges against two former Virgin Islands education officials on Jan. 21, effectively ending a criminal case linked to a 2014 wall project at the Elmore Stoutt High School that was never completed despite more than $1 million being spent on it.
Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards upheld no-case submissions brought by attorneys for Sixth District Representative Myron Walwyn, the then-minister of education and culture, and Lorna Stevens, who was formerly an assistant secretary with his ministry.
In 2022, both were charged with breach of trust by a public official, a charge that carries up to a three-year prison term, according to the VI Criminal Code.
But the DPP’s case did not satisfy the elements of the charge, according to Terrence Williams, an attorney for Mr. Walwyn and a former Virgin Islands director of public prosecutions.
“The prosecution could not show that [the defendants] acted beneath the standards of their office and that the defendants had any ulterior motive,” the attorney told the Beacon yesterday.
DPP mum on verdict
Director of Public Prosecutions Tiffany Scatliffe did not respond to a request to comment on the verdict, and attempts to reach Mr. Walwyn, who in 2014 was an at-large representative in the House of Assembly, were not successful as of the Beacon’s print deadline yesterday afternoon.
However, the former minister appeared to allude to the case’s outcome on his Facebook page yesterday.
“You cannot have a testimony without a test,” he posted. “What a testimony I have!”
Efforts to reach Ms. Stevens, who was represented by attorney Valston Graham, were also unsuccessful.
Investigation
The police opened a criminal investigation into the wall’s construction in March 2019 but said little about it publicly for three years.
In June 2022, police announced their first arrest in connection with the project, saying that they had charged businessman Kelvin Thomas with obtaining property by deception, making a false statement to a public officer, and possession of the proceeds of criminal conduct.
However, unlike Mr. Walwyn and Ms. Stevens, who were both charged later that year and tried in Magistrates’ Court, Mr. Thomas is facing possible trial in the High Court, and his matter is ongoing, according to court records. He has maintained his innocence.
Project criticism
The ESHS perimeter wall project, which commenced in December 2014, has faced criticism for years.
In a 2018 report, Auditor General Sonia Webster singled out the project for alleged budget overruns and contract splitting, among other issues. And in 2021, Commission of Inquiry Commissioner Sir Gary Hickinbottom questioned public officers about Ms. Webster’s findings.
In her report, Ms. Webster asserted that the MEC overspent and likely failed to obtain good value for taxpayers’ money in part because the project was split into more than 70 work orders and 15 petty contracts.
Ultimately, over $1.08 million had been spent on the project by the time work stopped in 2015, she wrote in 2018.
During the COI, Ms. Stevens explained that Mr. Walwyn chose to carry out the project primarily through work orders rather than petty contracts due to the number of contractors involved.
The minister also selected the contractors, she said.
Walwyn in the COI
During another hearing in September 2021, COI Counsel Bilal Rawat suggested to Mr. Walwyn that the use of work orders resulted in increased costs and undermined the quality of work.
He also suggested that Mr. Walwyn knew this would be the case.
For the first phase of the project, Sir Gary added, Mr. Walwyn could have given one petty contract under $100,000 instead of splitting the $96,000 cost between 11 work orders.
Mr. Walwyn responded, “It could have been done that way, but the Public Finance Management Regulations give powers for ministers to submit work orders.
If the power resides in the Public Finance Management Act and the regulations, and the minister uses that power, then to call that contract as if something is wrong is not right because that power should not exist in the law.”
Mr. Walwyn — who has vigorously defended the wall project against criticisms — admitted to the COI that he selected the contractors, but he said it was Ms. Stevens’ duty to vet them and make sure they had the required documents to operate.
‘Procedural issues’
In a 2022 statement after his arrest, Mr. Walwyn acknowledged “procedural issues” with the wall project, but he sought to downplay them.
“I also do not think that one could find a previously done government project that was faultlessly managed,” he wrote at the time.
