Business

Government Owes One Communications Over $7 Million, Most of It Past Due

A telecommunications provider told lawmakers this week that more than $7 million owed by local and federal government entities remains outstanding, with the vast majority of that debt already past due, raising fresh concerns about the territory’s long-running problem of delayed vendor payments and the strain those arrears place on companies continuing to provide essential services. The issue surfaced Wednesday before the Committee on Housing, Transportation, and Telecommunications, where One Communications Chief Executive Officer Siobhan James-Alexander outlined the scale of the government’s unpaid obligations to the company. According to Ms. James-Alexander, One Communications is owed more than $7 million by a mix of local and federal government entities, and “89% of that is past due.” Asked by Senator Marvin Blyden which agencies were among those carrying overdue balances, Ms. James-Alexander identified “The hospitals, for instance, Department of Education, Department of Health,” a...