Premier’s Office had breakdown to properly manage public purse?

The government’s Internal Auditor, Dorea Corea, has suggested there was a likely breakdown in the Premier’s Office with regards to its stewardship of the public purse.

Corea made that statement in response to potential criticisms put to her when she appeared before the Commission of Inquiry (COI) last week.

In the criticism, the government said Corea failed “to appreciate the international context of the COVID-19 pandemic” during her audit of government’s controversial stimulus programme.

Using the UK government as a comparison to bolster its argument and to further illustrate the international context, it was suggested that the UK effectively suspended the rules for the proper management of public money to support the economy in the first four months of the pandemic.

According to COI attorney Bilal Rawat, the criticism suggested that the problem was not isolated to the BVI, but instead, it was one where governments around the world of all sizes were struggling.