The Tribune

“THE Committee of Public Accounts,” says May’s Parliamentary Practice – the practitioner’s “bible” for the Westminster system of government – “is empowered to examine the appropriation accounts and such other accounts laid before Parliament as the committee thinks fit.

By tradition its chairman is chosen from the Opposition and Opposition members make up the majority of committee members.”

The Public Accounts Committee is recognised as parliament’s most powerful committee — the only committee controlled by the Opposition for the sole purpose of being the public watchdog over the spending of the people’s money.

Bahamians — ourselves included – persist in asking the question: Why aren’t we told how government is spending or misspending our tax dollars? Where is the Public Accounts Committee? Silence is the answer.

Says Mays: “The Committee does not seek to concern itself with policy; its interest is in whether policy is carried out efficiently, effectively and economically. Its main functions are to see that public monies are applied for the purposes prescribed by Parliament, that extravagance and waste are minimised and that sound financial practices are encouraged in estimating and contracting, and in administration generally. The committee also has a particular duty to look at excess votes.”

In his day Erskine May, clerk of the House of Commons, must have been writing for a different breed of politician. It seems that in 1844 he did not anticipate the parliamentarian who could so cripple this “powerful” committee that it would make a nonsense of its very existence.

Of course, he had never heard of the Bahamas, but today, despite the so-called power of this committee, the people’s Treasury is being used and abused by its government. Meanwhile, the watchdog has been given a sleeping potion.

In the 1980s then attorney general, the late Paul Adderley, scoffed at the inaction of the Public Accounts Committee, which at that time hadn’t met for five years (1982-1987).

“If the Opposition ignores the most important standing committee which it controls, I have to draw to their attention that they are delinquent in that respect,” he had said.

“That is the parliamentary watch dog of public expenditure.”

Mr Adderley said the Opposition had no control over what government spent its money on, but ”the how” was in the hands of the all powerful committee.

Being the typical politician and relying on the ignorance of the people, Mr Adderley did not confess that the so-called “all powerful committee” was only as powerful as the governing party permitted it to be. In 1982 members of the Accounts Committee hung up their gloves because the government had made it impossible for them to function.

When the committee asked for information, eg, the audited reports, it was refused. As is happening today, it couldn’t meet, because it could not get a quorum — three of the five appointed members. And without a quorum, it could examine nothing. However, we have the very medicine that would quickly cure the tissick of this present government – public embarrassment.

Yes, public embarrassment. Publish the date and time of every committee meeting, and the items intended for scrutiny. On the following day, publish the names of all members who attended the meeting, and the names of those who failed to do their public duty.

Also a statement could be made as to whether the chairman received all the information his committee had requested. Bahamians would quickly learn, which one of their “representers” was earning his keep, and which ones, come election day, should be fired.

The press is the muscle that this committee needs to enable it to do its job.

The first Public Accounts Committee under the second Christie administration met at 10:15am on Thursday, April 11, 2013. Present were – Mr Hubert Chipman, St Anne’s MP, chairman, Peter Turnquest (FNM), Shane Gibson (PLP) and Ryan Pinder (PLP). Mr Richard Lightbourn (FNM) was absent. Despite the absent member, there was a quorum for the meeting to proceed. And it did proceed.

The first item on the agenda was the accounting of the spending of Urban Renewal. The committee wanted to know — as does the public, which still wants to know – from Financial Secretary John Rolle what had been allocated to the Urban Renewal programme out of the budgeted $15 million. It also wanted to confirm the amount of $2.3 million that was also included in the Ministry of Works’ budget for Urban Renewal.

Questions yet to be answered:

A detailed listing of all signed contracts of the Urban Renewal programme since May 7, 2012, including the name of the contractor and the actual amounts paid to date; the duration and dates of the contracts; the name of the sub-contractor, if any.

Also requested were a list of the number of persons employed by the programme, including names and salaries; itemised listing of all vehicles purchased or transferred to the programme, including the cost and the year of the vehicles.

How many locations are in the programme? How many are rented and is there a signed lease in place for each of the rented locations?

Are there any unpaid salaries or outstanding debts or accounts payable? Were there any donated funds to the programme?

If so, how much was donated and by whom?

What is the total amount budgeted and the actual amount spent to date?

How much was spent on food and home repairs if any?

Also a listing of how much money was spent on lawsuits for damage to property, i.e knocking down buildings without permission?

The meeting was adjourned to April 18, 2013.

Since the April 11 and 18 meetings, the only two to be held, there were attempts at several other meetings, none of which took place because Mr Chipman could not get three members around the table at any one time.

The House then took a break after which meetings were then scheduled for July 17 (no quorum), September 4 (no quorum) and October 24. Mr Chipman thought he had a quorum on October 24 when Mr Shane Gibson promised to attend. However, as the other members sat for an hour waiting for him, he informed them that he was at another meeting and needed another 15 minutes before he could join them. Mr Chipman cancelled the meeting.

Again tomorrow’s meeting will not be held for lack of a quorum. Messrs Lightbourn and Turnquest are out of town. Mr Gibson is the only one confirmed for the meeting, but so far nothing has been heard from Ryan Pinder.

On January 22, 2014 the Auditor General was asked to conduct a comprehensive audit of the affairs of Urban Renewal from May 8, 2012 to December 31, 2013.

The committee is still awaiting this report. It is understood that the auditor is short staffed, but the latest from him is that his report will be completed at the end of this month — which is tomorrow. At the end of the 2012 report there were only two qualified auditors. Presently the auditor’s department has a staff of 45 with 33 vacancies.

It is understood that the committee recently received the audited account for the year ended June 30, 2012. We understand that these accounts were again qualified because of weak internal controls.

The committee had planned that at tomorrow’s meeting, now cancelled for lack of a quorum, it would review the 2011 and 2012 accounts. Of course, the 2013 accounts are not even on the horizon.

It is now important to get this committee up and functioning efficiently. It is also important to make certain that the audit department has the necessary qualified staff, not only to do its job, but to complete its reports on time.

The politicians who are playing cat-and-mouse with the finance committee have to be stopped. If the politicians knew that this committee would expose them to the public, they might show more responsibility.

At present they are spending the Bahamian taxpayer’s money without proper explanation and taking all of us for fools.