As Vendor Debts Mount, Bryan Assures Payments Are Coming

Amidst the flurry of activity this week to stabilize the finances of the Water and Power Authority sufficiently to stave off immediate threats to St. Croix’s power supply, it was noted that sluggish payments from central government continue to underpin a vicious cycle of unpaid invoices among government-controlled and semi-autonomous agencies.

Those unpaid bills also extend to vendors in the private sector. At a press conference last Tuesday, Senate President Novelle Francis disclosed that the government owes over $80 million to various vendors, and said that “the needs of the authority are prioritized over the needs of small business owners and vendors who are continually asked to wait for payments while cash is funneled to the WAPA.”

Governor Albert Bryan in response told the Consortium that vendors are being paid, while making note of the government's over $1 billion annual budget, arguing that "it's not unusual for a business" as large as the V.I. government "to have a similarly large payable." Mr. Bryan said the government has at least $40-$50 million "on order or in the pay."

Mr. Francis detailed all the financial support given to WAPA over the past 5 years or so, from the $6 million loan received in 2019 to the $15 million in CARES Act funding to subsidize WAPA bills in 2020. He noted the $45 million provided for the Vitol buyout last April, and the ARPA funds given to WAPA to subsidize fuel purchases during the pandemic. He concluded by noting the $4 million pledged last week by the governor.