Opposition flags dormant Parliamentary oversight committees at BBC forum

Mar 13, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Transparency and accountability in governance was spotlighted on Tuesday evening during the BBC World Questions programme held in Georgetown, where opposition Member of Parliament Tabitha Sarabo-Halley highlighted that several key parliamentary oversight committees are still not activated months after lawmakers were sworn in.

Jonny Dymond, a BBC correspondent, relayed a question from the audience on the importance of transparency as Guyana attracts increasing international investment.

Dymond said, “The question, with increasing international investment coming into the country, how important is it for political leaders to demonstrate transparency and accountability in their decisions? And it has to be said that the complaint has been made that the government has become less and less transparent. Complaints that the president does not face questions from journalists anymore, weekly post-cabinet news conferences no longer happen, that end of year news conferences don’t happen, that ministries don’t release figures and don’t respond to questions from journalists in the way that they used to.”

Responding, Finance Minister Ashni Singh said the administration firmly agrees that transparency and accountability are essential and pointed to measures taken in the oil and gas sector and the legal framework governing the country’s sovereign wealth fund as evidence of that commitment.

Singh pointed out that the People Progressive Party government legislated the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act, outlining that it has very robust requirements in relation to transparency, including publication of every single receipt of revenue received.He also noted that Guyana subscribes to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standards. “So, in that sector alone, for example, we have gone beyond the extra mile to ensure compliance with international standards on the transparency front,” he noted.

While Dr. Singh, did not directly respond to the part of the question on the absence of weekly post-cabinet press briefings and end of year press conferences, the minister posited that the government is accessible to members of the local media. He added that any event President Irfaan Ali attends he won’t ever refuse to accept questions from members of the media.

However, Sarabo-Halley argued that transparency must also be reflected in the functioning of Parliament’s oversight bodies. “The minister rattled off a number of things that they’re very transparent in. But I would like to go to the legislature,” she said.

The MP noted that several months have passed since the 13^th Parliament was convened and to date, critical parliamentary committees to ensure transparency and oversight is still not established.

Sarabo-Halley noted that she has even written to the Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir on the topic. She outlined some of the committees: Public Accounts Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Social Services and Economic Services Committee.

“Those committees, that is where the real work of the parliament is done to hold the government accountable and ensure that things are done in a transparent manner. Those things are still yet to be activated four or five months after parliament has been in place,” she said.

The Opposition MP also highlighted that the Public Accounts Committee has still not reached to go through the audit reports of the PPP administration’s 2020 to 2025 term in office, as the committee is still at the 2019 Audit Report. “So, we’re in 2026, and we have not gotten to the last five years of PPP government in office actually going through their numbers, auditing to see exactly what is happening with all of the money that have been spent over the last five years. So that is where transparency is, and what the parliament’s work actually is,” she said.

The MP noted that the reason for that is because the work is stalled. “Over 40 meetings they had to cancel because majority of the time the government ministers were not coming to the meetings to actually go through the process of going through those audit reports and that happened over the last five years,” she noted.

Also speaking during the discussion were Ayodele Dalgety-Dean, businesswoman and activist, and Clinton Urling, Secretary of the Private Sector Commission, who both emphasised the importance of strong governance systems as Guyana continues to expand its economy.

Notably, Urling cited remarks made by the Opposition MP and noted that if those committees are indeed not getting to function in the parliament, reform of the parliamentary system is needed.

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• BBC forum, opposition, parliamentary oversight, Transparency

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