By Robert Andre Emmanuel
A heated debate erupted in Parliament yesterday over the composition and effectiveness of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) during the Leader of the Opposition Jamale Pringle’s Budget response.
Pringle strongly criticized the current makeup of the PAC, describing attempts to hold meetings as futile and calling for significant reforms to the committee’s structure.
The PAC currently consists of three government ministers — St John’s City East MP Melford Nicholas, St John’s Rural East MP Maria Browne, and St John’s Rural South MP Daryll Matthew—alongside two Opposition members: Barbuda MP Trevor Walker and All Saints East and St Luke MP Jamale Pringle, who also serves as Chairman.
During the parliamentary session yesterday, government MPs attempted to defend the current structure by suggesting it was constitutionally mandated.
However, a review of the Constitution by Observer media revealed no specific requirements for the committee’s composition, save for Section 98 only stipulating that the House of Representatives should appoint committee members, with the sole requirement being that one member must be a Member of Parliament representing Barbuda.
The Leader of the Opposition proposed increasing opposition representation to three members, while reducing the government’s representation to two members, arguing that this would both improve the committee’s oversight function and free up ministers for their other duties.
“How can that make sense?” Pringle questioned, pointing out the inherent conflict of interest in having government ministers oversee their own ministries. “You’re asking ministers who are managing [these same] ministries to have oversight over themselves.”
Pringle also noted that there has been a general lack of understanding of how the PAC should function dating back to at least 2002.
He noted that across different administrations—including those led by Sir Lester Bird and Baldwin Spencer—the committee has struggled to fulfil its mandate, with only “one or two meetings” held during Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s tenure.
Browne, who served as Chair of the PAC for just under two years when he was named Opposition Leader in December 2012, countered by suggesting that the issue was one of coordination rather than composition.
“What is required is some level of coordination and cooperation between the government members and the two members on the other side,” Browne stated, suggesting that Pringle should personally contact committee members to arrange suitable meeting times.
Pringle, however, revealed that he has already been working through the Clerk of Parliament to coordinate meetings, but securing attendance from government members has been challenging.
He described instances where the committee failed to achieve a quorum despite Barbuda MP Trevor Walker travelling from the sister isle to attend.
This latest parliamentary clash over the PAC’s effectiveness follows recent concerns raised by the Director of Audit, Dean Evanson, who has called for a more robust and effective committee structure to ensure proper oversight of government accounts and expenditure.
Observer media, at this stage, was unable to independently verify the number of meetings of the Public Accounts Committee that were convened prior to 2014.
However, Observer media found several reports issued by the Office of the Director of Audit on the Organization of American States website for the years 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012 with the 2008, 2009 and 2012 reports stating that no official meetings of the Committee with the required quorum was held for those years.
Meanwhile, several other annual reports issued by the Audit Department since then fail to explicitly mention whether the Director has met with the Public Account Committee.
The Director of Audit has been vocal about the need for a more active PAC to ensure greater accountability and transparency in Antigua and Barbuda.
Evanson found that nearly $300 million and $214 million in special warrants were issued in 2017 and 2019, respectively, that were never approved by Parliament, suggesting potential bypassing of the parliamentary approval process.
