Sporadic PAAC meetings spark concerns

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:44 AM

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Inside Parliament

With Alicia Dunkley

Sunday, November 08, 2009

CONCERNS were this week raised over the pace at which the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament has been moving.

The committee, which is a select committee of parliament, is appointed to monitor budgetary expenditure during the implementation stage by:

. examining budgetary expenditure of government agencies to ensure that public money is expended in accordance with Parliamentary approval;

. monitoring expenditure as it is incurred and keeping Parliament informed of how the budget is being implemented; and

. enquiring into the administration of the Government to determine hindrances to efficiency, and to make recommendations to the parliament for improvement of public administration.

Despite its critical role, the committee has had to be competing with other groups for meeting times as well as space, as a result of the number of committees which have been convened.

Central Kingston member of parliament Ronald 'Ronnie' Thwaites - who has fast become one of the most vocal House members - brought the matter to the fore during last Thursday afternoon's sitting while the committee shuffled dates and tried to decide on which issues would be taken at which meeting.

"How are you going to manage the quantum of work this committee has? What we are doing now is kind of ambling through (no disrespect) the various ministries and responding to issues that people bring to us," Thwaites said.

The Central Kingston member of parliament said the inability of the committee to meet on a sustained basis meant that it was restrained in its efforts to ensure that the over 100 statutory bodies, public companies and entities are toeing the line in their expenditure of government funds.

"When they make losses they prevail on the consolidated fund when they make profits, generally the consolidated fund doesn't see any; they are absorbed by all kinds of good deeds within those agencies," Thwaites complained, noting that the governance of these agencies are not automatically subject to the Auditor General's scrutiny.

"We have to find a better way of approaching this, and the only committee that I see draws partially close to this, is this committee. And (so), sitting sporadically and casting around to see if we can manage a bi-weekly meeting or be accommodated for a couple of hours in a room is not good enough," Thwaites said, adding that it was of concern that there were companies and agencies "dealing with billions of dollars and serious public concerns which are not subject to any scrutiny at all".

Thwaites' call for a "different way" resonated with an equally unsettled committee chair Dr Wykeham McNeill, who noted that the concerns were shared.

"This committee meets every other week based on the difficulties we have been having here at parliament. I have met with the clerk a number of times because we are trying to find ways of meeting more frequently, although I suspect it would give difficulties to some members," McNeill said.

Thwaites, who was far from comforted, said while admittedly parliament was doing much better since the committee had not even been convened under the previous Government (of which he is a part), now that it has, it has revealed the magnitude of what needs to be done.

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