The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) says that while the Irfaan Ali-led government preaches parliamentary accountability on the international stage, it fails to practice those same principles in Guyana.
The FGM, led by Member of Parliament (MP), Amanza Walton-Desire, noted that this disparity is most evident in the continued delay in getting the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) operational. The party said four proposed dates for the committee’s inaugural meeting this month were offered, but all were reportedly declined by government members.
FGM argued that Parliament is far more than a chamber where laws are debated, reminding that it is the institution through which citizens exercise their democratic power by holding the Executive accountable.
The party said regular parliamentary sittings, functioning committees, ministerial questioning and scrutiny of public spending are all constitutional safeguards designed to ensure transparency in government.
“This government is fluent in the language of parliamentarism on the international stage. Its representatives sit at Inter-Parliamentary Union assemblies and Commonwealth Parliamentary Association forums, where they speak comfortably about the rule of law, transparency, and institutional strength. That fluency has not made its way home,” the FGM noted.
The party said the failure to establish and operate parliamentary committees weakens accountability because it prevents elected representatives from examining how public funds are spent and from reviewing reports produced by the Auditor General.
It further argued that every parliamentary sitting and committee meeting provides another opportunity for the public’s business to be conducted openly, warning that delays in those processes ultimately reduce citizens’ ability to hold the government to account.
While International Day of Parliamentarism is intended to celebrate the role of legislatures in strengthening democracy, FGM said the true measure of commitment is whether governments allow those institutions to function effectively.
The party is therefore calling on the administration to move without further delay to seat the Public Accounts Committee, participate in its meetings and ensure all parliamentary committees are allowed to perform the oversight responsibilities assigned to them under the Constitution.
