With a clerk now identified to provide services, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is to resume its work on Monday but a meeting called for yesterday by the Speaker of Parliament, Manzoor Nadir to resolve related matters had to be postponed because of the unavailability of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira.
Nadir requested the meeting to resolve several issues, including clashes over the Committee’s decision to meet twice per week. However, Teixeira, who is also the Government’s Chief Whip, was not available, according to PAC chair, Jermaine Figueira.
“The Honourable Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, who sits on 90% of Committees of Parliament, has to accept that she is not omniscient nor omnipresent and meetings of the respective committees can actually go on quite well without her presence. This need to dominate and bully is disgusting and doesn’t augur well for a democratic and developing society,” Figueira told the Stabroek News.
He added that the PAC needs to proceed with its work and frequent meetings are required to address the backlog in the examination of public spending. He proposed that government ministers relinquish their posts on the PAC since they are tasked with the responsibilities of managing certain sectors.
“I’m of the firm belief, under our tenure and now, that ministers of government should not sit on the PAC. The government has other people, young people they can use and provide them with the opportunity to learn. The PPP should do as the Opposition, where three of its four members are under forty,” he added.
In addition to Teixeira, Minis-ter of Public Works, Juan Edghill also sits on the PAC.
Figueira said he intends to lobby the Speaker to support the proposal that the PAC meets at least twice per week to clear its four-year backlog.
Meeting set
The work of the PAC was snagged last week after Clerk of the National Assembly, Sherlock Isaacs, informed the members of the unavailability of a clerk for the committee meetings.
In his letter to them, Isaacs said “…the present Clerk of the Committee has developed health issues because of high-stress levels and cannot continue to clerk the Committee.” He attributed the Clerk’s high stress level to the “frequent challenges” being encountered at the meetings.
“All other Clerks of Commit-tees are unwilling to clerk for the Public Accounts Committee because of the unprofessional conduct of some members of this Committee, which is not conducive to a healthy working environment. Unfortunately, in light of the above, I am unable to provide the Public Accounts Com-mittee with a Clerk,” Isaacs wrote to the Committee members before informing them that the meetings scheduled for last Friday and Monday had to be cancelled.
However, on Tuesday, Figueira informed this newspaper that a Clerk was identified for the Committee. He said yesterday the next meeting is scheduled for Monday.
“I met with the new Clerk for the Committee and we set the agenda and it has already been sent to all the members. We will be meeting on Monday (Novem-ber 1, 2021) at 10 am and we will be dealing with two agencies, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Communities. There are also some supplemental responses that we will be dealing with as well,” he said during a telephone interview.
Figueira took over as PAC Chair in July after the ousting of former Chair David Patterson by way of a no-confidence motion brought by the Government member. Since taking up the post, Figueira advocated for the Committee to meet more frequently to clear the backlog. However, the government side is arguing that twice-weekly meetings would be burdensome and they may not be able to attend due to other commitments.
While the APNU+AFC was in office, the PAC met for two weeks uninterrupted to clear their backlog.
