The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament could soon begin meeting with MP David Patterson as Chairman.
Speaking with Stabroek News on Tuesday, Patterson explained that he has been identified by the APNU+AFC to Chair the Committee and in his position as “Chairman elect” has written the Clerk of the National Assembly asking for meetings to be scheduled.
The PAC is normally chaired by one of its four Opposition members. Previous chairs include now President Irfaan Ali and PNCR Chairperson Volda Lawrence.
Its duties include examining the audited accounts of state agencies presented in the Auditor General’s Report, and exercising general supervision of the functioning of the Auditor General. There have been no meetings of this or any other parliamentary committee since the December 2018 no confidence motion.
In the absence of meetings of the PAC, the audited accounts of State agencies are not subjected to scrutiny beyond what has already been reported in the Auditor General’s Report.
Asked about the agenda he hopes to pursue, Patterson, the former Minister of Public Infrastructure, noted that he first needs to understand where the last Committee ended.
“I’ve received differing responses about whether or not the examination of the Auditor General’s Report of 2017 was concluded so I have written to the Clerk asking to be brought up to speed on the issue. I also know that several special audits and reports were laid in the Assembly so we would need to address the backlog before we move to current matters,” he said.
The current Public Accounts Committee includes Patterson, Juretha Fernandes, Ganesh Mahipaul and Jermaine Figueira. Members from the government’s side of the House are Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, Dharamkumar Seeraj, Vishwa D.B. Mahadeo and Sanjeev Datadin.
