Following yet another cancellation of a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting, Chairman of the parliamentary body, Jermaine Figueira has accused the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government of being afraid of transparency and accountability.
In a letter to the editor carried by Guyana Standard on Monday, Figueira complained that members from the government’s camp fail consistently to show up for meetings, as they were elected to. He said, “It is absolutely unacceptable and outrageous that the Public Accounts Committee, for the third consecutive week, will not be meeting on its statutory meeting day due to the government members’ unavailability to attend.”
According to the MP, their non-attendance is a blatant disregard for the responsibilities they were elected to uphold on behalf of the people of Guyana.
In his letter, he expressed that for this particular meeting, the happenings leading up to its cancellation were concerning. He said that the clerk of the committee had informed them that a quorum would not be present since members of the PPP government indicated they cannot attend. He further revealed that a notice was slated to be sent out, reminding committee members that the statutory meeting day for the PAC is Mondays, however, “the speaker informed the clerk not to proceed with the directive to send out the notice in compliance with the standing order”.
Figueira referred to that action as alarming, adding that “it is evident that the government is afraid of transparency and accountability, which are the twin cardinal principles that lend to good governance”.
He dubbed the actions of the government representatives on the committee as a “deliberate derailing of the PAC”, which is unacceptable.
According to the Opposition Member of Parliament, it is time for the people of Guyana to demand the accountability they deserve.
