Premier of the Virgin Islands, Honorable Andrew Fahie, laid on the table of the House of Assembly, the long anticipated and controversial Auditor General’s report on Government’s Financing of BVI Airways Direct Flights to Miami.
We’d all recall that the BVI Airways Controversy was one of the main points of attack by the present Premier when he was the Leader of the Opposition in the previous House of Assembly.
The then Premier, Dr. D. Orlando Smith, was repeatedly questioned on the BVI Airways deal, which eventually went sour, resulting in the BVI losing out on 7.2 million dollars with no flights, becoming a stain on Dr. D. Orlando Smith’s administration at the time.
This report by the Auditor General, whose office is completely independent of political influence, lays out in detailed fashion all the details of the one-sided agreement between Government and BVI Airways, the failed attempt of BVI Airways to establish direct flights to the US mainland, the ill-advised actions of Government in relation to the BVI Airways operation, and the subsequent abandonment of the operation by BVI Airways.
The report comes to scathing conclusions in relation to BVI Airway’s role in the failed operation. One conclusion was that the
“The manner in which the project was introduced and progressed suggests that the operator parties were attempting to take advantage of the Territory’s existing airlift issues by providing a solution that would guarantee them above market returns without the financial risk.”
Another hard hitting conclusion was that “The Framework Agreement was crafted by the operator parties and heavily favoured their interests.”
Yet again, the Auditor General pointed out another instance of BVI Airways failed obligations, writing, “The operator parties were required by the terms of the Framework Agreement to submit quarterly financial statements. This did not occur.”
In addition to these conclusions, Government’s blunders in relation to this venture were majorly criticized in this report. The auditor general lists eight main ways “Government erred,” which include, “Contracting an airlift agreement with parties who lacked relevant industry experience and operational contacts”
And in relation to Neil Smith’s role, the former financial secretary, “Assigning the individual in charge of the Government’s finances [to] serve as the primary facilitator to implementation, there was no higher financial authority to question or prevent his decision make early and complete payments to BVI Airways, which were contrary to Cabinet authorizations.”
The Auditor General concludes the report with seven recommendations that would avoid such a debacle in the future, one of which includes demanding accountability from the former financial secretary Neil Smith.