HUD Delays Billions in Funding for USVI, Puerto Rico, Citing Alleged Corruption
The recovery of the U.S. Virgin Islands has been hit with a major setback that could ripple through all aspects of the territory, following an announcement from U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson that H.U.D. has decided to delay billions of dollars in funding to the U.S. territories based on alleged corruption in Puerto Rico.
To put the announcement in perspective, during the Mapp administration, H.U.D. had approved a total of $1.8 billion in funding for the U.S. Virgin Islands, monies to be used for everything from new housing communities, infrastructure resiliency, and road projects. Some $8 billion was approved for Puerto Rico.
Now, the funds are essentially on hold, with a senior H.U.D. official telling U.S. media reporters on Friday that H.U.D. had concerns about “past mismanagement of funds” being heightened by “unrest in Puerto Rico.”
“Right now, because of the government instability, we have serious concerns and we want to make sure that we are pumping the brakes and that we’re being prudent and that the money is being spent properly,” the official said. “We’re looking for ways to even put our current monitoring process on steroids to make sure that the money goes to the people of Puerto Rico and doesn’t get wasted.”
Read more: https://viconsortium.com/breaking-news/hud-delays-billions-in-funding-for-usvi-puerto-rico-citing-alleged-corruption/