Due Process On ESHS Wall Findings—Governor Assures

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BVI Platinum News

(PLTM) - Governor Gus Jaspert has assured that the special report into the audit of the incomplete $1M Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) perimeter wall will be tabled before the House of Assembly by November 24. The audit was completed in August.

“The Auditor General has submitted her Special Report into the Elmore Stoutt High School wall project to the Governor.  He is currently considering it,” the Governor indicated through his Office to BVI Platinum News.

Further, the Governor's office stated, “He will ensure that due process is followed in dealing with the Report, including causing it to be laid before the House in accordance with Section 20 of the Audit Act 2003, within three months.”

The audit was requested by former Governor John Duncan days before his departure in July last year, but last week, Hon. Myron Walwyn, Minister of Education and Culture took the first jump and made the report public via a press conference.

The special report found several discrepancies with the project including failure to follow proper procurement requirements which had 70 contractors and moved from the original cost of $828,000 to $985,000 to date. However, Walwyn challenged several of the red flags raised in the report.

At last week’s press conference, Minister Walwyn said that while his Ministry had responded to concerns in the draft report and provided justification and explanation of the discrepancies that were noted, these were not taken into account in the preparation of the final report.

Instead, he lamented to journalists that the final report is basically a duplicate of the draft.  He referred to this as disrespectful to disregard the comments provided by the officers of his Ministry, stating that the AG’s Office’s functioning should not be an adversarial process.

“These concerns are in no way personal…It is to protect the professional integrity of myself and my colleagues who I hold in the highest professional esteem.”

This move prompted criticisms from section of society and the opposition.

“As in the past, the practice by members and affiliates of this administration, of degrading the quality and integrity of the work of the Office of the Auditor General must be tempered,” Hon. Andrew Fahie, Opposition Leader told BVI Platinum News.

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