The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is expected to hold its first meeting in the 13th Parliament under newly-elected Chairman Vishnu Panday on Monday after two government members informed the Clerk of the National Assembly that they would be available to attend.
Panday yesterday told Kiskadee Watch that government members Dr Vishwa Mahadeo and Suresh Singh had indicated their availability, allowing the committee to proceed after a series of aborted sittings.
“From the feedback… we will be having the first meeting on Monday as two government members have informed the Clerk of the National Assembly (Sherlock Issac) that they are available,” Panday said.
He added that among the matters he intends to raise at the meeting is a proposal that all PAC meetings be opened to the media.
“I will be requesting that all meetings of the Public Accounts Committee be open to the media,” he said.
The scheduled meeting comes after five consecutive attempts to convene the committee failed because government members did not confirm their attendance, preventing the committee from achieving a quorum required under the Standing Orders.
Panday, who was elected chairman of the committee last month, has repeatedly expressed concern over the growing backlog in the committee’s work, noting that it is now six years behind in examining the Auditor General’s reports.
Following Wednesday’s aborted meeting, Panday had described the continued inability to convene the committee as “yet another attempt to delay or frustrate the function of the Public Accounts Committee.”
“At this stage, I am convinced that there is definitely no concern for the work of the committee or a strategy to delay the progress of the Public Accounts Committee function,” he said.
He had also warned that if Monday’s meeting failed because of continued government absences, the opposition would meet with its leadership to determine its next course of action.
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) last week accused the government of deliberately undermining parliamentary oversight by failing to attend PAC meetings.
In a statement, the coalition described the repeated cancellations as “one of the most serious attacks on parliamentary accountability” and urged citizens to demand that the committee be allowed to carry out its constitutional oversight role.
Calling for the immediate resumption of regular meetings, APNU urged full attendance by government members, an accelerated timetable to clear the backlog of Auditor General’s reports and reform of the quorum rules to prevent either side from frustrating the committee’s work through non-attendance.
It also appealed to civil society organisations, trade unions, professional bodies, faith-based organisations, the private sector and citizens to press for the committee to resume its work, arguing that the issue transcends party politics and concerns accountability for the expenditure of public funds.
Discussion