KINGSTON, Jamaica — Members of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) are now meeting behind closed doors following a clash in the chamber at Gordon House over expenditure on consultants engaged by the Ministry of Tourism.

Government MPs vehemently sought to block the discussions from proceeding, as committee chairman Dr Wykeham McNeill questioned Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism Jennifer Griffith as to the terms of employment for several employees of the ministry, including senior communications strategist Delano Seiveright.

The MPs insisted that McNeill’s line of questioning was out of order and not in keeping with the mandate of the PAAC.

This is the second time in the past week that Seiveright’s engagement by the Tourism Enhancement Fund has come up at the PAAC.

According to figures from the tourism ministry, which was copied to the committee this morning, overseas travel undertaken by Seiveright since February of last year has reached almost $9 million as of the end of May.

Alphea Saunders