The work of the Public Accounts Committee continues to be hampered with the absence of the Government Members.

When the meeting was called this morning at the Public Buildings, the Government Members were all absent, making it the third time that the meeting has been forced to be called off since the resumption of the current session of the National Assembly and the sixth time since the Government changed the quorum for the meeting.

The Opposition side of the Public Accounts Committee today complained that the government’s continued boycott of the Public Accounts Committee meetings is crippling the work of the Committee.

“The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly of Guyana continues to suffer from meeting to examine the spending of public funds by the Government due to the continued absence of the PPP/C members of the committee.  Today, Monday, 12th December, 2022 marks the third consecutive Monday of no meeting of the PAC since the resumption from recess of the National Assembly due to the absence of a quorum and the 6th Monday of no PAC since the passage of a motion to change the composition of a quorum for the PAC,” the Opposition Members of the Committee said in a statement.

The Opposition is alleging that the government is hiding from scrutiny of its spending, following allegations of corruption. The government earlier this year changed the quorum which now requires for there must be at least two members from each side, plus the Chairman present before a meeting could take place.

“Amidst widespread allegations of massive corruption at the Ministries of Public Works, Agriculture, Home Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sports, Health, Education, Natural Resources, Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Foreign Affairs, Housing and Water, Finance, Human Services and Social Security and at Regions 1 to 10, the country and people of Guyana are left with no answer, no accountability and no transparency with this PPP/C Government,” the Opposition noted in its statement.

The Opposition said the absence of the Government members is a clear show of their total disrespect for accountability and transparency and explained that government members continued absense from the PAC is a “clear evidence of the breaking down of the guard rails of our democracy.”

The APNU+AFC in its statement said it will continue to fight for the people of Guyana and will be formally notifying the Diplomatic community and international parliamentary organisations of the latest development.

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