Newly-appointed Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament David Patterson has set January 4, 2021 for its first meeting.
Speaking with Stabroek News on Tuesday evening, Patterson explained that the meeting will focus on designing a work plan to address the massive backlog including three and a half years’ worth of Auditor General reports as well several special audits.
“We will have to look and see how we can advance…I know that the Committee has in the past examined more than one report simultaneously so possibly we can do that to move forward faster. We also have to see how often we will meet because we definitely have to meet as often as possible to address the backlog. Special reports will also have to be examined,” he explained.
One hurdle which will have to be surmounted is the presentation to the House of the Auditor General’s Report for the 2018 fiscal year. While this report was handed over to Speaker Barton Scotland in November 2019 it was not laid in the House before the dissolution of Parliament in December 2019. With the dissolution of the 11th Parliament it is likely that the document will have to be resubmitted to the 12th Parliament before it can be considered.
Patterson also said that he still intends to officially request an audit of the COVID-19 cash grant project.
“I notice that the President has also called for an audit so I expect there will be no objections and the PAC can set the Terms of Reference and timeline for the completion of that Audit,” he noted adding that the Committee will also have to be involved in the drafting of the 2021 Budget for the Audit Office.
The final agenda item for the meeting is the possible passage of a resolution to allow for certain meetings of the PAC to be open to the general public.
“This has been the norm in the past so I hope it can continue but first it has to be agreed to by the members,” he told this newspaper.
Patterson was appointed chair of the PAC on Monday following a four-month delay in convening the first meeting of the 16 Parliamentary Committees. For a little over a month he has been in constant communication with Speaker Manzoor Nadir requesting that the meeting be held so that the Committee which has not met since 2018 can proceed with the necessary work. Nadir in turn had said that the meetings would be convened once all members could be present. He later told the Assembly that steps had been taken “to ensure members can participate and represent their constituents at every meeting”.
“A contract has been signed with a provider and several members will be able to participate directly from their homes because the people of Guyana will be providing them with internet access,” he announced on December 23.
On that same day, Nadir said that December 28 had been set as the date for the convening of meetings of all committees.
Stabroek News has been able to confirm that following that meeting former Minster of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman has been elected to Chair the Sectoral Committee on Foreign Affairs while Minster of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd will be Deputy Chair.
The Committee on Economic Services will be Chaired by rookie parliamentarian Shurwayne Holder while Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill will be Deputy Chair.
