It’s a complaint that Virgin Islanders have voiced for years: tremendous waste, on various levels, that has permeated multiple branches of government. It had been brushed aside in the past, but now that the territory’s financial crisis is beginning to affect everyday life of commoners, residents are paying keen attention to the operations of government.
Such was the case with a St. Thomian who, while driving past a garbage bin in St. Thomas near Fortress Storage, which is located directly behind the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, was appalled when he saw what appeared to be a brand new videoconferencing device, many parts of which were still encased in boxes, in the garbage bin. The device, a Polycom HDX800, appeared to be brand new, said the resident, who had seen the device earlier and drove back to the location to take some pictures for this publication. The device could cost as much as $10,000.
“All of it is brand new stuff in their boxes,” said the resident. “All the wires are here, everything.”
It is likely that the device may have had a defect, but there are other options that could be utilized instead of throwing away the entire package. For example, if the device’s computer was malfunctioning, there would be no reason to throw away the camera and the cords, or vice versa.
The device could have also been stolen and discarded by thieves. Mapp administration Communications Director Cherie Munchez, told The Consortium this morning that the way in which the device was disposed of was not normal government procedure, adding that all government devices are barcoded to keep track. The device in the garbage bin was barcoded, therefore it should not be difficult to determine which government department or agency it came from, and why it was discarded in such a manner.
Update: Patrick Miller, a native Virgin Islander who now works for the federal government as a video conferencing engineer in Ohio, told The Consortium this morning that the manner in which the device was discarded is suspicious.
“Those sets range in price from $2000 to $13,000, and you do not just throw something like that away,” Mr. Miller said. “That’s called fraud, waste and abuse, and I can tell you that the federal government is particularly unforgiving with anything dealing with that. There definitely needs to be an audit done on that piece of equipment. Whoever is responsible for that equipment needs to explain why it was thrown away like that.”
Have a look at the pictures below:
Tags: government, us virgin islands
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