The Office of Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed on Monday accused the government of continuing to frustrate the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), saying a fifth attempt to convene the parliamentary oversight body today was in jeopardy because government members had not confirmed their attendance.
In a statement, Mohamed’s office said it had been informed that PAC Chairman Vishnu Panday was awaiting a response from the government members regarding a proposed sitting today.
According to the statement, the previous four attempts to convene the committee failed because government representatives were unavailable.
“The Guyanese people deserve an explanation as to why the Government continues to frustrate the work of the very committee constitutionally mandated to scrutinise public spending,” the statement said.
The office noted that the PAC, one of Parliament’s principal oversight committees, is responsible for examining the Auditor General’s reports and ensuring that public funds are spent in accordance with parliamentary approval.
It said the committee was only constituted after a nine-month delay following last September’s general elections but had still been unable to commence its work.
According to the statement, the committee has only completed examination of the Auditor General’s reports up to 2018, leaving reports from 2019 through 2024 awaiting parliamentary scrutiny.
“Every meeting that does not take place further delays accountability for billions of dollars in public expenditure,” the statement added.
The Office of the Opposition Leader called on the government members of the committee to fulfil what it described as their constitutional responsibilities by facilitating the immediate resumption of the PAC’s work.
Panday told Kiskadee Watch that he is awaiting responses from the government members for a meeting scheduled for today.
The latest statement follows complaints made last week by Panday, that four scheduled meetings had been cancelled after government members indicated they were unavailable.
Panday had said invitations were first issued on June 15 for a meeting on June 22 but the sitting was cancelled after government members advised they could not attend. Meetings subsequently proposed for June 23, June 24 and June 26 also failed to proceed for the same reason.
Opposition APNU Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul, who also serves on the committee, had supported Panday’s account, saying the chairman complied with the Standing Orders by issuing notices more than three working days in advance and circulating the agenda.
Mahipaul said opposition members were initially informed that the June 22 meeting would have achieved a quorum but were later advised that government members had withdrawn, preventing the meeting from proceeding.
The PAC comprises five government and four opposition members. However, under the Standing Orders, at least two government members must be present for the committee to achieve a quorum.
Panday has also expressed concern over the committee’s growing backlog, noting that the last Auditor General’s report fully examined by the PAC was for 2018, leaving six years of reports still to be scrutinised.
Mahipaul has linked the current impasse to amendments made to the Standing Orders in 2021, arguing that the changes effectively gave the government control over when the committee can meet.
During the previous Parliament, opposition members also complained that PAC meetings were frequently cancelled because a quorum could not be achieved. According to Panday, committee records show that between 2021 and 2025, 51 meetings were scheduled, but only 26 were held while 25 were cancelled, mainly because government members were unavailable.
Government Chief Whip and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira has not publicly responded to the opposition’s latest allegations and questions sent to her office by Kiskadee Watch remain unanswered.
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