The National Assembly today passed a motion to continue the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with the Chairman of the Committee, Member of Parliament Vishnu Panday expressing disappointment that the Committee has only met 26 times in a period of five years.

In October, the Government successfully piloted a motion through the PAC to have the Reports of the Auditor General for the period 2020 to 2024 examined simultaneously to reduce the backlog.

But MP Panday said there was nothing to celebrate.

“It is not something that we all should be happy about especially when we look back, that we are still, from 2020 to 2025 – which is now presented – we are five years behind with the Public Accounts Committee, and that is nothing to be happy about,” the PAC Chairman told the House.

He said all members of the PAC should endeavor to meet more regularly to ensure that the reports of Auditor General are thoroughly scrutinized.

“I have pleaded and I have asked the Government side, and the other members of the Opposition side that we must be able to understand that we are obligated to the public to ensure that we fulfil our mandate of giving required information because we have been paid by them and we have an obligation to ensure that fulfill. So, I have asked, that we need to have much more frequent meetings, 26 meetings in five years, is very far from acceptable. We need to have more frequent meetings, and meetings that would last longer hours,” the PAC Chairman said.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul told the House that the former APNU+AFC coalition had lobbied the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to merge the reports to fast track the work of the Committee, but that proposal was repeatedly shut down.

Mahipaul said after years of resisting the motion, he was pleased to see Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill put forward a similar proposal to have the reports for 2019, 2020 and 2021 merged.

“I am happy that the People’s Progressive Party Government has finally sought to agree that there is need for us to come up to date with the Auditor General’s report. And I am happy that they have accepted that us here as Members of Parliament have a duty to guide our accounting officers to ensure there is no repetition or repeat of the findings of the Auditor General that really against the financial laws of the country,” MP Mahipaul said.

Weighing in on the issue, Minister Edghill said the PPP/C stands by its decision back then not to merge the reports. He explained that the period covered the APNU+AFC’s time in office following the 2018 no confidence vote, which resulted in the collapse of the David Granger Administration.

“Mr. Speaker, 2018 saw in this National Assembly a vote of no confidence. A government that should have been a care taker government for three months continued in office for the entire 2019 and a large section of 2020. And while the APNU+AFC wanted to merge those years, the People’s Progressive Party consistently resisted that attempt that the Public Accounts of Guyana to be glossed over in a period….So, while the honourable member would like to rewrite the history, the PPP/C’s objection was that the period where this country was governed by a caretaker government after a no-confidence motion, must be handled as a special case,” Minister Edghill explained.

The Government, he said, stands committed to work with the Opposition to reduce the backlog of reports from the Auditor General’s Office.

Today’s motion allows for the Committee to continue its work, picking up where the previous committee left off.

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