Auditor General’s report 2018 to be laid in Parliament

Oct 02, 2019 News

…PPP insists document must go through excessive scrutiny

The Auditor General’s Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, presented to Speaker of the House, Dr. Barton Scotland, will be laid in the National Assembly, after Parliament comes out of recess on October 10, 2019.

[from left] Speaker of the House, Dr. Barton Scotland, receiving the Auditor General’s Report 2018 from Auditor General, Deodat Sharma

This was revealed Monday, when Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, presented the document to the Speaker, at Public Buildings, Parliament.
The presentation was made in the presence of members of the Public Accounts Committee and the media.
Sharma said that this, his 15th Report as Auditor General, marks the ninth consecutive occasion the Audit Office has been submitting reports by the statutory deadline of September 30, after the close of the fiscal year.
PAC Member, Juan Edghill approached reporters after the presentation, and stated that the party will not be taking part in any sitting of the National Assembly, because he is of the view that Parliament has expired.
However, he stated that the Opposition would like to ensure that the report is not hidden away from the public; that it is given the fullest extent of scrutiny, despite the Opposition’s planned absence from the next sitting.
The Opposition has an opportunity to return to Parliament when it reconvenes, to provide that scrutiny, but Edghill said that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s position is more principled, in that it will not allow such an opportunity to let it legitimise Government’s occupation of office at this time.
The Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, has said that any participation by the PPP in the National Assembly, and a vote of support for the Government’s intended extension of the March 21, 2019 Constitutional deadline, would give credence and legitimacy to the Government’s disregard for the No Confidence Motion. He has also said that the Opposition will not, in granting an extension, give the Government legal cover for any illegal acts it has committed since the passage of the deadline.
Of the Auditor General’s report, Edghill noted certain troubling aspects of the previous report, in which there were funds reported to be unaccounted for, such as those used to fund the Construction of the Durban Park. Edghill said that the Opposition is interested in knowing what is taking place in that regard.
He went on to state that he doesn’t expect the absence of the PPP in the National Assembly to be the reason for the hiding of the contents of that report from the public. He added that a mechanism should be considered to ensure that the contents of the report are made known to legislators and the media, because “this is a matter of serious concern where transparency and accountability” are in question.

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