The Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General has issued the audit report of the Application of Employees’ Loan Payments – VI Water and Power Authority. The objective of the audit was to determine the extent to which WAPA remitted employees’ loan deductions to financial institutions on time, per authorized agreements.
We found that during Calendar Years 2021 and 2022, WAPA was, at times, up to eleven months late in remitting employees’ loan deductions to GERS.
We attribute these conditions to WAPA’s financial crisis and management’s decision to prioritize other obligations, such as fuel cost, over timely remitting GERS payments, and credit union deductions.
As a result, WAPA retirees could not receive their retirement income until all outstanding funds owed to GERS were paid. Additionally, employees were at risk of late loan payments to credit unions and denied prompt access to the portion of their deductions reserved for savings account deposits.
We made two recommendations to address the conditions and causes of the findings included in this report. Our recommendations addressed adherence to policy and internal controls. To view the report, click here.