On Monday, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Member, Juretha Fernandes reminded that the body currently does not have the leverage to summon delinquent public officers to answer questions of accountability and transparency unless legislation is in place.
The APNU+AFC member made these remarks following the committee’s disquiet over a few former public officers who did not turn up before the committee to answer for their spending of government funds while in office.
“So, as it is right now, we cannot operate as though the PAC has any power to summon, because we do not. So, we need to expedite that process to be passed in the National Assembly, so that we can take these courses, but as it is right now, we have to work with the system that we are faced with. And it must be recalled that this is not the first, second or third time we don’t have the persons showing up.”