Press release on status of Public Accounts Committee

This morning the nation was greeted with yet another attempt by the Opposition to mamaguy the Guyanese people. It is therefore incumbent upon the PPP/C Administration, as the legitimate Government of the day, to set the record straight.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is currently examining the 2019 Auditor General’s Report.

This report happens to be, from the year after the successful passage of the December 21, 2018, Motion of No Confidence, which should have led to an election within 3 months. This is the period during which, the APNU-AFC refused to demit office. It is abundantly clear, that the current APNU- AFC Opposition would have preferred a situation, where 3 of their members could meet as the PAC, and gloss over the illegalities, corruption, mismanagement, and maladministration, that occurred during that period. The fact that the PAC quorum has changed, has certainly brought much grief and pain to the APNU-AFC because the 2019-2020 period will not disappear. The spending of public funds in 2020, during the 5-month period of attempting to steal an election, is next on the agenda. We will see more crocodile tears from the self-righteous.

The blatant lie being peddled by the APNU-AFC Opposition that the  PPP/C Government is attempting to dodge scrutiny, bears no merit, since, the PAC is currently reviewing the Auditor General‘s Report for 2019- a period when the PPP/C was not in office. This is a clear attempt at obfuscation and is a smoke screen to distract from actions that require closer investigation. This asinine behaviour will not be allowed to continue unchallenged. The commitment that the PPP/C Government makes to the people of Guyana continues to be congruent with the following principles: full accountability, transparency, and the public purse will be protected at all times.

It would be a disservice to the right-thinking members of society, to fail to inform, that the efficiency of the PAC does not lie in the number of times that it meets, but rather, in what is accomplished during its meetings. Thus, a change of quorum did not, in any way, shape or form, negatively affect the efficiency of the PAC. Another important fact to note is, PAC meetings are open for public viewing, and it is our informed position, that the Guyanese people are the best jury that can pronounce on this matter.

The headline in the Kaieteur Newspaper: “Govt. dodging PAC meetings to avoid scrutiny of their spending- Opposition”, is ill-advised, unresearched and void of any factual basis. Those who are interested in learning the facts of the matter can observe them below:

During the Period 2015 – 2020 (5 years) when the APNU-AFC Coalition was in office, the PAC met a total of 46 times.

Compare this figure to the following:

During the Period 2020 – 2023 (3 years) since the PPP/C Administration has been in office, the PAC met a total of 58 times.

The following are questions that we suggest that Kaieteur News and other news agencies ask the Opposition:

1.   Is the frequency of PAC meetings a means of topping up parliamentary allowances for opposition members, by filling claims for transportation and other expenditure? Perhaps the parliament office should make public the expenditure incurred by PAC members for attendance.

2.   Why is it that the members of the Opposition would like to gloss over the 2019-2020 period, and, why do they become enraged when there is the mention of illegalities?

This is the same consort, that told the nation, that they won the 2020 General Election, and they expect the people of Guyana  to believe them now? The APNU-AFC’s approach to providing alternative facts has become an art form that will not be tolerated.