Taking advantage of the absence of an opposition MP, the PPP/C members on the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) yesterday forced through the appointment of 11 staffers of the Auditor General’s Department, including the wife of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, according to APNU.
APNU later called the actions of the governing party “unprincipled,” while saying that it is likely to “undermine the integrity” of the work of the Auditor General’s office. The government and opposition members of the PAC had previously been split on the appointments, which were proposed by acting Auditor General Deodat Sharma. In particular, opposition members charged that the promotion to Audit Director of Gitanjali Singh, the wife of the Finance Minister, would present a conflict of interest, given the potential responsibilities that go with her post. A Commonwealth parliamentarian visiting Guyana recently expressed surprise that the wife of the Minister of Finance was employed in the Audit Office, which is responsible for the audit of the country’s public accounts.
In a statement issued last evening, APNU repeated a call for President Donald Ramotar to urgently appoint a
