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Getting answers from accounting officers is like pulling teeth – PAC Chair
Irfaan Ali, Chairman of PAC
…Plans to have the officers take oath
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is moving to implement a plan to have accounting officers take an oath when they appear before the committee to be questioned about Government funds.
PAC Chairman, Irfaan Ali, told reporters at the end of another grueling session, yesterday, that from time to time the committee encountered difficulties where accounting officers deviate from the wholesomeness of answers and they change their answers when pressed in different corners.
“The oath will remind accounting officers and all those who are giving evidence before the PAC. It would remind them of the seriousness of the information they are presenting.
“They way they are presenting the information and the truthfulness of the information and answers they give to PAC. In this regard, the oath will serve as a reminder as an enforcement mechanism as it relates to the information that is provided to the PAC,” Ali explained.
During the hearing, Ali repeatedly reminded officials from Region Ten, Upper Demerara-Berbice that they were before the PAC and warned about the answers they were providing to the Committee.
Asked if getting answers was like pulling teeth, Ali replied, “Sometimes, it takes a lot of probing.”
He added, “Sometimes it takes a lot out of the members because to prepare for a meeting is not just turning up. You have to read the report; you have to understand the issues.
“Sometimes accounting officers are deliberate in their withholding of information. It takes a lot of probing and that is what takes up a lot of the time.”
He stated that the PAC would like accounting officers to share information in a wholesome way and with general honesty that is required in answering questions,
According to Ali, the Standing Orders of Parliament provide for persons coming to give evidence before the PAC that they subscribe to an oath.
“An oath is just like any other oath that you take in a court of law and anywhere else. The same conditions that govern an oath there governs an oath that you take when you come before the PAC.
“You have repercussions for an oath. An oath is an oath whether it is taken in here or in a court for example. The oath has the same weight and consequences,” Ali noted.
According to Ali, the next PAC report, which will be tabled in the National Assembly will include the recommendation for the accounting officers to take an oath going forward.
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