In the aftermath of the hurricanes that have damaged Puerto Rico, citizens are looking to rebuild their lives. The company hired to work on restoration was a small Montana company named Whitefish. The company is extremely small with only two actual workers, the people who were actually rebuilding were temporary contractors working for Whitefish.
The controversy stems from the exorbitant prices Whitefish was charging to Puerto Ricans. Whitefish was attempting to charge around $300 an hour per worker, despite said workers only receiving around $60 an hour. Whitefish’s hourly rate is extremely high, especially for a recently wrecked island.
Puerto Rico’s main source of income was from manufacturing, but with the extreme damage done, it will have a hard time footing the bill. “It will likely be months before power is fully restored and medical product manufacturing returns to pre-hurricane levels,” said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Scott Gottlieb to the Washington Post.
With extremely high rates, many have wondered if the reason Whitefish was chosen over cheaper competitors was due to corruption. This sparked public backlash on a massive level, as many wanted an investigation into the shady contract.
This call was answered as the FBI is now investigating the $300 million dollar contract.
As of now, the contract with Whitefish is being redacted, and the Puerto Rican Power Authority Director has resigned. Despite lack of news coverage, the crisis in Puerto Rico has not been resolved. Many are without daily necessities and hospitals are running low on energy. “There can be no distraction that alters the commitment to repair the power grid as quickly as possible,” said Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello. A new contract needs to be formed quickly so the Puerto Rican population can start to rebuild both their lives and their island.
