Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday has revealed that an initial audit of 12 state-owned public enterprises in St. Vincent and the Grenadines uncovered matters requiring further formal investigation.
Upon assuming office, PM Friday instructed the appointment of a rapid assessment team comprising two qualified Vincentians to evaluate all public and state-owned enterprises across the country. The team submitted its initial report covering the first 12 entities approximately three months ago.
According to Friday, the findings from that initial batch revealed clear issues requiring deeper scrutiny. “From what we have seen before of the 12 that were done, there are things there that require further investigation and they will be investigated,” Friday told the audience.
The Prime Minister confirmed that the assessment team has since completed reviewing the remaining state entities, though he noted he had not yet personally reviewed that final installment at the time of the meeting.
Friday emphasized that his government is taking a methodical, evidence-based approach rather than engaging in arbitrary political targeting.
“We do things in a way [where] I’m not here targeting somebody here and there,” Friday stated. “We are looking for ways in which things have functioned so that we could correct the things that went wrong, so that we can hold accountable those persons who need to be held accountable, and where the information and the evidence leads, we will follow”.
