Public Accounts Committee [PAC] member Ganesh Mahipaul has accused the Government of deliberately cancelling yesterday’s sitting of the PAC because it is aware of the damning revelations contained in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Auditor General’s Reports.
The APNU+AFC MP yesterday related to Stabroek News that the committee will be concluding its examination of the 2019 Auditor General’s report and from there will transition into the scrutiny of 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
According to Mahipaul, these reports have presented evidence of malfeasance, and corrupt practices by public officers as was highlighted by the Auditor General.
He is convinced that the government is afraid of what will be revealed at PAC meetings, so all attempts are being made to stymie or derail the scheduled sessions.
“These said reports have revealed the malfeasance and corrupt practices by public officers, which this government is afraid of because the Auditor General clearly outlined the high level of breaches committed under this PPP/C regime by accounting officers who are not qualified when it comes to safeguarding or promoting transparency and accountability”, the Opposition Member asserted.
Mahipaul said that there are several public officials who were “caught” in the act of mismanagement and corrupt practices which he said must be exposed.
He contended that several of these public officers have violated the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003, due to their lack of expertise in finance management and more so the law.
“Most of them I can say are not experienced or lack the expertise in the field of finance management so because of that they were ill-equipped when it comes to understanding the importance of accountability so a lot of errors and corrupt practices were committed, the Public Accounts Committee serves as the guardrail for democracy transparency, accountability, and provides responsible oversight for the allocation of public funds, and when sessions are cancelled, it creates the way for these public officers to do as they please, without any sort of check and balances,” he added.
Mahipaul continued “Majority of these permanent secretaries and regional executives officers if one can examine their qualifications, you will see that they do not suit these portfolios, many of them are political components and I say this to say that due to their ineptitude in the field of accounting and financial management, that is why they performed poorly as what itemized in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 reports and I know when the 2023 report is out we will see more damning revelations which the government is trying to hide from us, but there are high levels of incompetence at several of these regional administrations and government agencies”.
The APNU Member said he is disgusted at the frequent cancellations of PAC meetings and urged the government to stop dodging public scrutiny and transparency since it professes and touts credibility and accountability.
Meanwhile, PAC Chairperson Jermaine Figueira in a letter to the press was also outraged at yet another cancellation of a scheduled meeting.
He said that without effective oversight, the PAC risks witnessing further fiscal mismanagement, reckless squandering of public resources, and a crisis of trust in the government’s financial stewardship.
Typical example
Figueira lamented that Monday’s cancelled meeting is a typical example of “how it is becoming more and more (evident) of the government’s chronic and deliberate plot to stymie the work of this very important committee of the national assembly”.
“Primarily, the government members who sit on this committee are deliberately absenting themselves, especially the government ministers who should not be there in the first place; according to Minister Gail Teixeira’s own words in parliament, where she posited “ministers of government should not sit on the PAC because of their commitments and heavy workload”, he claimed.
The Chairperson in his letter commented, “I agreed with her when it was said then and I agree with her even more now than ever”.
“The government members we all have seen continue to display a flagrant disregard for this crucial parliamentary oversight body, entrusted with the vital task of scrutinizing government’s financial matters, he continued.
Figueira posited that the government’s consistent no-show is imperilling one of the guard rails of democracy.
He is adamant that these frequent occurrences are handicapping the committee’s capacity to function as a robust oversight mechanism to aid in the overarching principles of good governance.
“This disheartening trend began when the PPP government altered the standing order, mandating the presence of two government members for a quorum”, the Chair recalled.
“This change we argued then was to slow down and stymie the committee work which they refuted was not their true intention but a year and months later, it is clear as day, with the more than 40 cancellations of the committee meetings since this unnecessary and unwarranted change was made”, the Member of Parliament articulated.
“The PAC continues to grapple with an alarming backlog of work, particularly in its present examination of the financial records for the year 2019, rendering it years behind in its essential work and we are in 2024, five years lagging”.
“It is important to note, that a fully functioning PAC is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy, providing a vital counterbalance to unchecked government actions and ensuring that accounting officers discharge their duties and responsibilities in accordance with the law and show respect in service to the people they serve”.
He asserted “It is in this regard, that I again on behalf of the committee, emphatically call upon the government to prioritize the prompt resumption of regular PAC meetings, replace the “hard-working” ministers of government with two other competent members, to ensure the committee can begin to address the backlog of work in a meaningful way, diligently executing the pivotal oversight duties for the people of Guyana, we all love”.
Efforts by Stabroek News to contact Government’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira yesterday proved futile but in the past she has dismissed the opposition’s claims that her side of the PAC was attempting to stymie the work of the body.
In the past as well, Figueira had suggested that Ministers should not occupy seats on the PAC due to their heavy work schedule however, Teixeira had countered that there is no rule that prevents such from happening.
“In the last Parliament two ministers sat on the PAC. I didn’t hear any issue. The Parliament before that, two ministers sat on the PAC. The Opposition always chaired [so] why is it a problem not with [Minister of Public Works] Juan Edghill and myself? Is there another agenda?” she had questioned while speaking to Stabroek News some months ago.
She had pointed out that PAC is not a full-time job, as other members from her side of the House are engaged in jobs which have demanding schedules and require out of town travel at intervals.
Further she had argued that she and Edghill are two of the most experienced members on the PAC. Sitting on the committee, she had explained, allows them to groom young members in the interim.
Before the change of quorum, a meeting required the presence of three members irrespective of which side of the House they were from. Opposition members, then, had argued in defence of the three-member quorum saying that if it was changed government members would use the new formula to stymie the work of the PAC. The new quorum that guides the current PAC requires five members, two from either side of the House plus the Chairman.
Teixeira, when defending her tabling of the motion to change the quorum, had said that the amendment of the quorum for the PAC offered protection to both sides of the National Assembly. She argued that the 2-2-1 formula provides for greater participation when scrutinising the Auditor General’s reports and secures representation of both sides. She pointed out that on two occasions, while the government side of the House was absent, the opposition made decisions without their input.
