PAC chairman, APNU condemn govt’s refusal to ensure PAC meets

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 June 2026, 22:49 by Writer

The Chairman of the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Vishnu Panday and A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Ganesh Mahipaul have slammed the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration for derailing efforts to have that mechanism meet to scrutinise the government’s past spending.

“Instead of facilitating parliamentary oversight, the Government appears intent on delaying scrutiny and frustrating accountability,” Mr Mahipaul said in a statement.

Mr Mahipaul said the repeated decision by the government not to attend the PAC meetings, resulting in no quorum “goes to the very heart” of the controversial decision taken by the PPPC in April 2021 during the 12th Parliament to change the committee’s quorum requirements.

He reminded that at the time, he had argued that the amendment was designed to give the government effective control over when the PAC meets and, “by extension, how quickly or slowly it performs its oversight role..”

“Everything we warned about in 2021 is now unfolding before our eyes,” he said.

For his part, the PAC Chairman said in a statement that the government members’ reluctance to respond positively tells Guyanese that the affairs of proper governance are compromised.

“This attitude surely gives rise to suspicion, since the public cries out frequently on corruption by government officials,” Mr Panday added.

Mr Mahipaul credited Mr Panday with making strenuous effort to convene a PAC meeting to continue examining the Auditor General’s reports that are outstanding for the 12th Parliament and continue in the 13th Parliament.

Mr Mahipaul, who has served on previous PACs, said Mr Panday complied with all the standing orders by issuing the notice more than three working days in advance and circulating the agenda.

He pointed out that the first notice was sent on Monday, 15 June, for a meeting scheduled for Monday, 22 June.

He said PAC members were initially informed by the Parliament Office that the quorum requirement had been satisfied with the chairman, two government members, and two opposition members.

But Mr Mahipaul said on the very day of the meeting, they were informed that the government members had withdrawn, causing the meeting to lose its quorum.

In an effort to accommodate everyone, Mr Mahipaul said the chairman proposed that the meeting be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, whichever day is best suited to members.

Unfortunately, he said the government rejected every proposed date. “As things now stand, no one knows when the PAC will meet,” he said.

Mr Mahipaul said the pattern was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. “A Government that is confident in its stewardship of public funds should welcome the work of the Public Accounts Committee, not repeatedly obstruct it,” he said.

He said Guyanese deserve transparency, accountability, and a government that is prepared to answer for its management of the nation’s resources, not one that continually avoids scrutiny.

The chairman said the previous PAC under the last parliament before the September 2025 general and regional elections was only able to complete its accountability checks up to 2018, resulting in a backlog of six years.

He reasoned that the major cause of the backlog was that of the 51 scheduled committee meetings, 26 were held and 25 were cancelled mainly due to the unavailability of government members.

Against that background, Mr Panday said, “I am calling on the committee members from government side – whom (sic) are Ministers and MP’s (sic) – selected in the PAC to attend all business meetings by fulfilling their obligations to the citizens of this country, who are their paymasters, in which the public affairs of this country can be carried out with efficiency and transparency.”