Roy to review his own work as chair of PAC
(CNS): The absence of the former member for North Side, Ezzard Miller, was felt immediately in the Legislative Assembly on Friday morning, as members met for the first time to form the various standing committees and other business required at the start of every new parliament. Given the current make-up of the House, the new opposition leader, Roy McTaggart, was made chairman of one of Parliament’s most important committees, the Public Accounts Committee, putting him in an immediate position of conflict. For the first year at least, McTaggart will be dealing with reports relating to the management of public finances under his own watch as the former minister of finance.
Miller was a competent and unconflicted steward of the committee, which largely meets in public, calls witnesses and scrutinizes the reports and audits of the independent public finance watchdog, the Office of the Auditor General.
But McTaggart’s first order of the day will be dealing with the already controversial reports on the airport and Cayman Turtle Centre, which were left hanging when the former premier, Alden McLaughlin, called a snap election and dissolved Parliament before its work was completed. Both of these entities were the responsibility of his colleague Moses Kirkconnell, who now sits with him on the opposition bench.
“PAC has at least two important reports that need to be tabled before the Parliament is dissolved. These are the reports on the airport fiasco and the Turtle Centre mess,” Miller told CNS in February.
These reports followed the PAC’s hearings that established some serious mismanagement of public money during the last government relating to overspends at the airport and the glaring issues surrounding the management of the West Bay tourist attraction, which has led to further unrest among the staff there.
Bernie Bush, the member for West Bay North, committed to addressing the problems at the turtle farm on the campaign trail but it will now be the opposition leader who will be responsible for finalising the PAC’s review.
This is not McTaggart’s first time as PAC chairman. He served on the committee during his first term as an MLA, between 2013 and 2017. He took over the chairmanship while still a member of the now defunct C4C after Miller resigned as a result of trouble with the initial line-up. But McTaggart then ousted McKeeva Bush from the committee because of his public attacks on the auditor general.
By that time McTaggart had become a full member of the PPM, so he also resigned from the chairmanship because of the potential conflict and handed the job back to Miller, who then successfully steered the committee for the next five years, offering a degree of public scrutiny and transparency into how government was using public funds that no other chairperson had previously achieved.
McTaggart, who will now face some serious conflicts, will be joined on the committee by his opposition colleagues, Dwayne Seymour and Barbara Conolly, who is the only member to offer continuity, having been a member of PAC during the last administration.
The new government back-bench MPs nominated to serve are Kathy Ebanks-Wilks, Heather Bodden and Isaac Rankine, who will now have to pay close attention to the witnesses called and the questions asked to ensure that the transparency established by Miller continues.
The select committees for the business of the parliament, privileges and the oversight of the ombudsman were also appointed, though in the past none of these committees have ever met in public.
It is not clear yet, given Premier Wayne Panton’s commitment to transparency, whether that might change. Speaker McKeeva Bush, without any mention of his own conduct, also asked Panton to prioritise the Standing Select Committee on Privilege’s work on the Code of Conduct for members.
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Category: Local News
Roy didn’t appoint himself; he was appointed by PACT, they had the votes.
Chris, upstanding hopes but they could never clean up 40-50 years of mess in one term. We’d be lucky if they make any headway at all, considering some of who Wayne had to use and who he wheeled and dealed with to make this Government.
Don’t keep a blind eye! You’re right but moreso for us, the public. They say they’re going to be about transparency and accountability. Well, don’t turn a blind eye on them! Keep them accountable and transparent.
It really doesn’t matter. Nothing has ever come of a PAC investigation, ever. Not even when illegality or incompetence is clearly shown. No one can be fired or embarrassed into resigning so who cares what PAC does.
Roy has integrity and was only one member of PPM. The airport and turtle center were not under his ministry. Being part of government makes you collectively responsible wether it is PPM or PACT. Neither government has all the right individuals in place and the systems in place are still not holding them accountable. I am not sure why the PAC must be formed with MPs as they essentially are auditing themselves and some can’t even read financial statements. The Auditor General needs to become engaged more and the senior personnel in civil/public service need to be protected better from repercussions for speaking out. Senior employees are often bullied and heavily critiqued by MPs for doing their jobs. We are tired of being their punching bags and being thrown under the bus for their lack of knowledge or failed policies.
There are several new MPs that require training due to lack of qualifications and or experience. Not a goood situation during a recession and pandemic.
Does he??? Must have MIA the last 4 years.
Roy is 2PAC
We the willing, led by the unknowing….
Here we have a classic example of people not knowing but do doing!
God help us.
I believe during the canvassing many of the elected MPs met professionals in all fields who are presently under-utilized; get the district councils going and get people working where their skills are most effective.
Time will tell what wrongs have been done and a decision or two will have to be made in order to right them if any.
As the man himself, Johnny Cash, said “. . . But sure as God has made the day and the night, what you do in the dark will be brought to light”.
That is if we are going to be made to see the light.
Talking of Cash, I had the pleasure of seeing at the Lions Centre many years ago. He was an amazing person.
I quote from one of his most famous rcords for the benefit of the newly elected. ‘ I keep my eyes open all the time’. Johnny walked the line indeed, and experienced some really bad times but finally rose above it.
This is a message to the new Givernment. Do not turn a blind eye, be above corruption and nepotism . Keep Cayman clean as it was 50 years ago.
I was ok until you said Cayman was clean 50 years ago. It was a hotbed of drug money laundering.
26/4@11:10am – an it’s not the same now? I could show you a few restaurants and jewelry stores which are evidence!
The committee system continues to develop nicely. But will the interesting offers made to winning candidates continue to be offered to them while in office – so that they can sell us out the way previous governments have sold us out? We must watch them carefully.
Everyone seems to focus o the last Govt., yet the PAC has to oversee the current Govt as well.
Roy ain’t going to look into or do a friggin thing about ppm dirt or unlawful behavior is he now cmon Cayman this is a joke right ??
Roy was appointed by PACT.
The Turtle Center matter (outrageous), the CIAA airport project over-runs (gross waste of public funds), the ongoing-oversight of OfReg’s internal corruption and failures to deliver results will surely show Roy’s/PPMs true colours about public accountability.
At least one of these matters should result in dismissals- at the very least!!
We shall see!!
The PAC has tremendous power under Parliament’s Standing Orders to invite/require anyone to assist them. Perhaps they should invite Ezzard to return to the task of calling out accounts problems. He could do that with written reports and assist with questioning civil service witnesses. I believe that even the payment of outside experts is permitted if it will assist the PAC.
Good to know an honest professional like Roy is involved.
He is not the Rottweiler that Ezzard was, but Roy will achieve the same end result without acrimony.
Cayman should stop trying to imitate the UK system. It is too convoluted for a small place. Too many offices to fill.
So now do people see the politricks? You think they gonna change anything other than their bank accounts you wrong!
Obviously if there is a conflict – and there will be a pile of them if Unity fragments are reviewing their own past spending decisions – the current Opposition bench must recuse themselves. It’s time for full publication of all CIG spending, as required, and formation of a public-private audit committee (ex-KPMG), to really dig into this stuff without rubber stamping agendas. Miller Chaired the Committee for 8 years and only found the whistle hanging around his neck in the last 10 minutes of his political career. It’s not convincing to characterise his many many years of inaction as impartial or capable.
Come on guys, we can do better than this, don’t start this early…
They really can’t
and that is the problem
If this government really cared about investigating corruption it would put Mr Miller back where he could be of some use Roy is not going to do a damn thing about it!That I know!
CNS: Only elected MPs can sit on PAC.
So true. He was the only one trusted to do the right thing. Shame he is unable to stick with it.
Old politicians tend to forget their own people hence we see a lot of them collecting severance. Every one that voted for it should have received it as good faith.