Gov’t owes over $400,000 to school cafeteria produce supplier
Lawmaker warns lack of payment puts student meals at risk
By THE STAR STAFF
A Puerto Rico government contractor that supplies fruits and vegetables to public school cafeterias says she is owed more than $400,000 for services rendered and warned that continued payment delays could jeopardize food deliveries to schools across the island.
The situation was highlighted Wednesday during a radio interview on Radio Isla’s “Pega’os en la Mañana,” where supplier Shirley Morales said the government has been unable to provide a timeline for settling the debt, citing problems with its payment system.
Morales said she recently met with government officials who assured her she would receive a $60,000 payment on Oct. 9. However, she said the payment never materialized.
The issue has raised concerns among lawmakers. Rep. Tatiana Pérez Ramírez warned that if suppliers are forced to halt deliveries because of unpaid invoices, public school students could be left without meals.
Morales said Wednesday’s shipment would be her last for now as she evaluates whether to continue providing food through the remainder of October and into November.
The supplier said the outstanding balance reflects nearly two years of unpaid services. She said government officials later informed her that they could not guarantee when the remaining invoices would be processed.
She also alleged that government personnel told her some of her invoices had disappeared from the payment system following an incident involving access to accounts linked to the Treasury Department. Morales said officials were unable to explain how the invoices were deleted or when they could be restored.
“The only invoices they were able to process were a few they managed to work on,” Morales said. “They still don’t know how they are going to handle the others.”
Morales expressed frustration over what she described as a lack of clear answers from government agencies. While acknowledging that some suppliers have reportedly received payments, she said the amounts disbursed to her represent only a fraction of what she is owed.
“You ask questions and the answer is always, ‘I don’t know,’ or ‘We don’t know when,’” Morales said. “Neither I nor a business can sustain itself indefinitely under those circumstances.”
The island government had not publicly responded to the allegations as of press time.
