Mapp's Sr. Policy Advisor Says Gov. Turned Down 3 Rum Companies That Wanted To Do Business in USVI

ST. CROIX — Three new rum companies that desired doing business in the territory through new rum distilleries were turned away by Governor Kenneth Mapp, said the governor’s senior policy advisory, Frankie Johnson, above left, on Friday.

The stunning revelation comes at a time when Mr. Mapp could least afford a faux pas, and was made on the popular Mario Moorhead radio program on 103.5 F.M. The Reef, when gubernatorial candidate Albert Bryan was relaying his plans for the territory to the listening audience.

Mr. Johnson called the show while Mr. Bryan was speaking about his ideas for the Government Employees’ Retirement System (G.E.R.S.), which includes an attempt to attract new rum companies to the territory and use dollars generated through the deals to shore up the pension system. Mr. Johnson contended that the Diageo agreement was a bad one that saw the local government giving away too many incentives.

Most of the rum cover-over funds go directly to the territory’s bondholders, with Mr. Mapp revealing last year that the September 2017 payment, which stood at $223 million, saw $175 million being paid to the territory’s debtees. Of the remaining $48 million, $18 million went to the government’s general fund, and the remainder to Cruzan Rum and Diageo for promotional fees and molasses subsidies, as per the 2007 agreement.

Read more: https://viconsortium.com/breaking-news/mapps-senior-policy-advisor-says-governor-turned-down-three-rum-companies-that-wanted-to-business-in-territory/