Last Monday, the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to scrutinize the public accounts and the related reports of the Auditor General, had to be cancelled because of the absence of a quorum. It will be recalled that the Standing Orders of the National Assembly were amended in April 2022 to increase the quorum for the convening of the nine-member Committee from any three persons, inclusive of the Chair-person, to five persons: two from the Government’s side, two from the Opposition and the Chairperson.
The Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs had asserted that the change was necessary to ensure an ‘efficient and accurate scrutinisation of the use of public funds’. She went on to state:
