BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AS part of its good governance agenda, the Team Unity Government is expected to establish the much-talked about Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sometime in the new year.
Many people have been calling for that Parliamentary Committee to be in place so that oversight could be had with regards to government’s spending.
Some in civil society, a number of political commentators and executives of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party have been speculating on making adverse comments about the Government’s spending. However, Speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Michael Perkins announced that the PAC and a number of legislations are expected to be tabled in 2017.
“The Government would move expeditiously to layout and bring to Parliament its sweet of good governance legislation, including Term Limits and would also be seeking to have established the Public Accounts Committee and a Standing Committee to look at the rules, to look at the Standing Orders of this Parliament.”
Those announcements, among others, were made during a recent special sitting of the National Assembly, where Senator Akila Byron-Nisbett was sworn in and assumed the position of Deputy Speaker.
In an invited comment, Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Two, the Hon. Marcella Liburd told SKNVibes that the Opposition would have heard the same announcement from the Government before, but still no action.
“We have heard that before you know. We heard before that it was already supposed to be established, and it has not and it’s almost two years. We are going to wait to see what happens, because they can say what they want. But I think that it pressure...that is why.”
Earlier this year, Opposition MP Konris Maynard had raised questions on the Government’s slothfulness on establishing the Committee, but Attorney General Hon. Vincent Byron debunked those statements and pointed out that it was not the Government’s responsibility but rather that of the Rules of Parliament.
