Government’s Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, has once again dismissed the opposition’s claims that her side of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is attempting to stymie the work of the body following their absence on Monday last.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Teixeira said that the accusation that her side of the committee is trying to stall the work of the PAC, is one the opposition uses of their free will. Last Monday, she informed, she was in back-to-back meetings, making it impossible for her to attend the scheduled PAC session. She, however, noted that all five members from her side submitted excuses for not being able to attend the sitting due to other commitments.
Parliament’s PAC was on Monday forced to abort another meeting after all five government members failed to show up.
The Chairman of the PAC, Jermaine Figueira, has reiterated APNU+AFC’s opposition to the present quorum.
“It is important that we are allowed to do our work in the interest of transparency and accountability,” Figueira told Stabroek News on Monday. He added that the absence of meetings delays their work, which he described as unfair as the PAC has an obligation to report to the National Assembly.
“We have a backlog and now we are being handicapped by this situation. The Guyanese people need to know how [their] monies were spent and what it was spent on.”
A suggestion first made by current government lead member, Teixeira, when in opposition, that ministers of government not sit on the PAC because of their heavy workload and commitments has also resurfaced.
“It has been our suggestion that ministers not sit on the PAC. When Ms [Gail] Teixeira was out of government she made the same suggestion but now the tables have turned and she is the lead member of the government on the committee,” he stated.
Responding to the suggestion that Ministers should not occupy seats on the PAC due to their heavy work schedule, Teixeira 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 questioned.
She 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 argued that she and Edghill are two of the most experienced members on the PAC. Sitting on the committee, she explained, allows them to groom young members in the interim.
Monday’s cancellation was the ninth PAC meeting to be aborted under similar circumstances since the quorum change. The other PAC meeting cancellations occurred on May 23, 2022 (mere weeks after the change to the previous quorum was adopted), July 11, 18, and 25; November 21 and 28; December 12, and February 6, 2023.
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.
