By David Beasley (Sooner State News)
Oklahomans should “ask tough questions and demand transparency” from the administration of Gov. Kevin Stitt on how COVID-19 relief funds are spent, a watchdog group said.
“While lead federal watchdogs have made it clear that waste, fraud, and abuse were rampant within the government’s pandemic relief efforts, it is clear there has been lax oversight and controls at the state level, too, as massive sums of federal COVID-19 money were handed out,” said Peter McGinnis, communication director for the Functional Government Initiative. “We’ve seen where reports from legislative watchdogs and official state audits in Oklahoma highlight to taxpayers that efforts to curb waste must be strengthened. The people of Oklahoma should continue to ask tough questions and demand transparency and accountability from the state‘s government over the handling of pandemic relief funds.”