Business

Hodge Fires Back At DLCA: 'Convoluted Report Tying WAPA To VITOL Can Only Be Described As Suspect'

ST. CROIX -- The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority's Executive Director, Hugo Hodge, Jr., wants nothing to do with a report from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) claiming that based on investigative work done by the Department of Labor (DOL), VITOL, a company subcontracted by WAPA to perform propane conversion work, failed to post job openings with Labor, and instead hired outsiders to work on the project. While Hodge did not deny DOL's investigation, he said the tying of WAPA to VITOL by DLCA is "truly unfortunate," according a press release issued this evening. "The Water and Power Authority has been placed in a position of having to respond to a convoluted statement by DLCA that prominently associates the Authority with the violations and cites the Labor Department’s investigative report but fails to ever identify the “subcontractor”. The fact is, WAPA has no subcontractors for this project. Further, while WAPA was named throughout the news re...