Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

$2M Went Poof - Opposition Wants Answers

$2M Went Poof - Opposition Wants Answers

The opposition-led Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is set to begin its first set of meetings next month, promising to probe government spending, including $2M on the 2019 Emancipation Festival.
If needs be, the opposition intends to also summons persons who conduct business with government to answer questions before PAC.

During a press conference today, January 23, Opposition Leader, Hon. Marlon Penn, who is Chairman of the PAC, said there are projects which have raised red flags including the monies spent on festival.

“…Festival as I mentioned is one that is of grave concern to us, $2M went up in poof in two weeks in the air. We need to give account for that $2M…we have yet to have a proper accounting on how the monies were spent, so that is something that we are going to delve in,” he told reporters.

He added that there is the issue of the private security contract for the Premier.

"The private security firm where he was paying $86,000 a year, a month and that went on for ten months,” he said.

Hon. Melvin Mitch Turnbull, Representative for the Second District and Opposition Member, also touched on the Festival expenditure and noted that there are some monies not accounted for. He said that he intends to get answers.

“I was reminded that this was the preliminary report from Festival, so I pray to God within the next couple of weeks before the next House (of Assembly) meeting we get the final report…The people have a right to know how their monies are spent; we are approaching April with Virgin Gorda Festival; we cannot continue to let things go unchallenged,” Hon. Turnbull stressed.

Festival celebrations are held under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture, which is headed by Dr. the Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley.

Hon. Penn made it clear that PAC will not only be focusing on projects which were done under the current Virgin Islands Party (VIP) government, but will span those under his former National Democratic Party (NDP), including the controversial BVI Airways and Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) wall projects.

He also mentioned that the ‘Virgin Islands Neighbourhood Partnership Project’ which was done back in 2008 by current government consultant, Mr Claude Skelton Cline will also be probed.

“There is the neighborhood project that happened some time ago that we never had a full report ventilated, there is even the BVI Airways, there is the Elmore Stoutt High School wall. There are all these things that even happened under my administration that we need to look at,” Hon. Penn stated.

PAC also intends to look at audited accounts dating back to 16 years.

He assured that PAC’s work will be effective.

“It’s our intent to be very active, we have scheduled meetings every week after the 4th (February) to delve into those reports…audited accounts to ensure that there are some accountability, the way government’s money is spent, the way projects have been executed…Key projects we have raised as red flags,” the Opposition Leader stated.

Hon. Julian Fraser, Third District Representative and Opposition Member, also mentioned that PAC has the authority to summon persons to help find answers. He said that they do not intend to solely depend on government for information.

“We want to make it clear going into this next Public Accounts Committee, we are not going to rely only government. A private citizen or a private company that had business with the government is opened to be summoned before the Public Accounts Committee and they must answer the questions whether or not the matter is in court…We have that power to do those things and answers we must get,” Hon. Fraser said.

Penn reemphasized that they will not only focused on projects done under the VIP administration.

“We are not going to be partisan in our approach to examine the government’s spending on government projects,” the Opposition Leader said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
×