…says transparency, accountability demand justice
Not only has the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government facilitated more meetings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in less time than under the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, but there is more attendance of meetings by Government Ministers than ever before.
This is according to Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira, who in responding to the criticisms of APNU and AFC presented the Parliament records to show that the PAC has, in fact, been more active under the PPP/C than in preceding years. In fact, even the previous PPP/C Government had a better track record of holding PAC meetings than APNU/AFC.
On Saturday, Teixeira said that in the 10th Parliament under the Donald Ramotar Presidency, 57 meetings of the PAC were held between March 16, 2012, and November 3, 2014 – a period of 32 months. Additionally, under the current Dr Irfaan Ali Presidency, 51 meetings have already been held in the 12th Parliament between December 28, 2020, and March 6, 2023.
By comparison, Teixeira noted that the records show that in the 11th Parliament between September 9, 2015, and August 6, 2018 (40 months) just 44 meetings were held under the former APNU/AFC Government.
Another complaint by the APNU and AFC about Government Ministers’ absences was rubbished by Teixeira, who contended that in the 11th Parliament under APNU/AFC, the two sitting Ministers on the PAC – Volda Lawrence and Valarie Patterson – were excused 12 and 23 times, respectively, from PAC meetings.
She further noted that in the current Parliament, the two sitting Ministers – herself and Public Works Minister Juan Edghill – have both been excused eight times and were absent twice. Not only were PPP/C Ministers more present at PAC meetings than the APNU/AFC Ministers, but they were showing up during a busier time, she noted.
“It should not be taken lightly that the PAC in the 12th Parliament has a heavier agenda than both the 10th and 11th Parliaments; it had to finalise the work done in the 11th Parliament with regards to the PAC report on the combined 2015/2016 Annual Audited Reports, which was tabled and adopted in the National Assembly in 2022.”
Additionally, Teixeira noted that the current PAC has also had to address the Annual Audited Reports of the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, which were tabled at the end of 2020 due to the No-Confidence Motion and “the 14 months during which Guyana had no lawful Government, the 2020 elections and the five-month delay before the election results were declared.”
“The PAC is, therefore, dealing with a backlog not of its making but due to circumstances beyond its control. The Annual Audited Reports for 2020 and 2021 have also been laid on time and are before the PAC,” Teixeira further wrote in a statement.
Teixeira also dismissed claims that the PPP/C’s amendment to the Standing Orders by requiring two Government members, two Opposition members and the Chairman to be present to form a quorum, is a strategy to sabotage the PAC. She noted that in 2022, following the passage of this amendment, the PAC “met 13 times of the 25 times it met for the period ending on March 31, 2023.”
She explained that while much work has been done on the combined 2017/2018 report, the report has not been concluded because of missing documents and the non-attendance of former accounting officers who functioned during APNU/AFC’s term in office. The Minister also pointed out that the PAC is still examining the former Government’s term in office, so the argument that the PPP/C does not want to examine this period is “bizarre”.
When it comes to the meetings of the parliamentary committees, Teixeira noted that the number of meetings have also been quite similar across the two Administrations. The 11th Parliament (APNU/AFC) saw five meetings of the Special Select Committees, while the current Parliament has seen four. Meanwhile, the Parliament Management Committee (PMC) has met seven times in both the 11th and 12th Parliament.
“Noteworthy is that at least eight meetings of the PMC in 2021 were convened and called off due to the lack of two – two quorum required by the Standing Orders due to the absence of the APNU+AFC MPs. When Opposition members accuse the PPP/C MPs of stymying the work of the PAC they are speaking out of guilt for what they did in the PMC for the years 2021 and part of 2022,” Teixeira said.
Another point made by Teixeira is that Guyana currently has a robust anti-corruption framework that has been strengthened by the PPP/C Government. For instance, a National Coordinating Committee (NCC) was established in the first month of them taking office in 2020, to make sure Guyana is compliant and proactive on fighting corruption.
“I wish to emphasise that the PAC is examining the 2019 Audited Report, the year the APNU/AFC Government remained in office as a caretaker Government and spent and behaved as if it had a mandate to do so. This is a national disgrace! Transparency and accountability demand justice; the disgrace would be if nothing were done to correct this,” she said on Saturday.
