Shirly Morales, a fruit and vegetable supplier to Puerto Rico’s public school cafeterias, says the Puerto Rico government owes her more than $400,000 for services rendered, a debt covering almost two years without payment. She spoke Wednesday on the radio program Pega’os en la Mañana. According to Morales, the government told her it does not know when it can pay because of problems with the system.
She said she recently met with government officials who assured her a $60,000 payment on October 9, but the money never arrived. After a second meeting, she was told there are no guarantees on when she will be paid. She said the payment promise covered only invoices that could be processed, and officials do not know how they will handle the rest.
Last Friday, she said, someone from Hacienda (Treasury) accessed her accounts in an unexplained way and all her invoices were deleted from the system. Morales said Wednesday was her last delivery, and she is discussing whether to finish out October and how to handle November. She said the government has paid other suppliers, but not even a fraction of what it owes.
Representative Tatiana Pérez said the situation is worrying, because if suppliers stop delivering food, children in Puerto Rico’s public schools could go without meals. Morales said her questions are answered with "I don’t know" and that neither she nor any company can sustain this indefinitely.