Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle at Public Accounts Committee Meeting (photo by Robert Emmanuel)
Barbuda MP Trevor Walker at Public Accounts Committee Meeting (photo by Robert Emmanuel)
MP Sherfield Bowen with Minister Anthony Smith Jr. and Minister Melford Nicholas at Public Accounts Committee Meeting (photo by Robert Emmanuel)
Participants of the Public Accounts Committee Meeting (photo by Robert Emmanuel)
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is set to reconvene on July 10 following an abrupt adjournment during its first sitting of 2025.
Yesterday’s meeting ended prematurely due to several members expressing concerns about insufficient preparation time and the absence of necessary documentation for effective oversight discussions.
Established under the Constitution, the PAC plays a vital role in overseeing government spending and promoting financial accountability. However, the committee has struggled with scheduling conflicts and maintaining quorum for regular meetings.
During the last session, which took place under the chairmanship of Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle, committee members faced immediate hurdles when government MPs Melford Nicholas, Anthony Smith Jr., Daryll Matthew, and Barbuda MP Trevor Walker realized that a completely new agenda was distributed just hours before the 2:30 pm meeting.
This left both members and Director of Audit Dean Evanson scrambling to prepare.
Daryll Matthew questioned Evanson regarding the sudden agenda change, expressing concerns about whether there had been adequate time for detailed discussions.
Evanson acknowledged that he received the agenda shortly before the meeting, around 8:30 or 9:00 AM, and cautioned that addressing all items could extend the meeting until the evening.
Further frustration arose from Barbuda MP Trevor Walker, who emphasized the need for physical copies of financial statements and audit reports to facilitate informed discussions.
Additionally, procedural issues were raised concerning the adoption of the committee’s rules, submitted to Parliament in July 2024, yet possibly not properly adopted.
Nicholas and Matthew noted that the Speaker should have been approached to allow for a special committee to scrutinize these rules before formal adoption.
Notes from Observer’s Robert Emmanuel
Maybe the government is hiding something with all this obfuscation?
What a set fumbling, bumbling idiots who, clearly, are in way over their heads at conducting matters of such magnitude. And yet, they want to run this country??????????
I dont understand the obstacles what are they hiding?
This is why nothing gets done, too many delays over basic procedures. These are serious national matters and deserve better preparation from all sides.
“Under the chairmanship of Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle” Antigua.news, that made your article not surprising! He can’t run a committee, he can’t run a party, what gives him the courage to run the country? If you can’t run the country, leave it to labor party! In everything Pringle does he only embarrass himself in the end! And I will not stand to watch him embarrass Antigua! Lame excuse of a man!
Pringle wasn’t ready to hold that meeting. He just wanted to say he doing something chups
Last-minute agendas? Missing documents? This is the watchdog of public funds, not a student council. If the PAC can’t prep properly, how can they hold anyone else accountable? The fact that a new agenda was circulated just hours before the session raises eyebrows. Is it confusion or a convenient way to avoid uncomfortable questions?