GRENADA-Opposition leader calls on government to properly constitute PAC.

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ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Mitchell has called on the government to constitute the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tasked with overseeing government expenditures and examining the value for money of government projects, programs, and service delivery.

“I am appealing to the government side, at this point, after ten months of governing, we do not have a properly constituted Public Accounts Committee, and I will call no such meeting until that committee is properly constituted,” said Mitchell, chairman of the PAC.

Mitchell, who lost the June 23 general election last year, said that the current construct of the Parliament with an elected opposition is different from the previous two occasions when his New National Party (NNP) controlled all 15 seats in the Parliament. He said that the non-appointment of a PAC is not an option.

“I have pointed out to the clerk and others that there is a fundamental breach of the standing rules and orders as they are over the years…It says the Lower House members who do not have official ministerial responsibilities ought to be members,” he said.

“It should be a maximum of five and a minimum of three; I am surprised that there were senators on the committee,” he said, pointing out that the PAC following the 2013 and 2018 general elections included members of the Upper House because there was no elected opposition.

Mitchell told legislators that instead of complying with the rules after it had been pointed out to the Leader of Government Business that the current PAC violated the regulations, communications were sent to him requesting that he file a motion in the House demanding that Parliament accept the current construct.

“I made it clear that the government must correct that fundamental error. Right now, we have a Public Accounts Committee that is not properly constituted, and therefore, we should correct it, but the onus is not on me to do that correction,” said the Opposition Leader.

“I will take no responsibility for any incorrect, improper construct of the public accounts committee, that is the responsibility of the government side, and they must do it,” he added.

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