UPM failure to appoint member stalls PAC’s work
(CNS): The Public Accounts Committee was supposed to review the latest report by the Office of the Auditor General on Thursday. However, the meeting was adjourned until March because the five-member committee did not have a quorum (three members plus the chairman), not least because it is currently one member short. The OAG report to be reviewed examines the continued failings across the government to effectively and accurately report back to the public how it has spent taxpayers’ money.
One of the seats on the committee has been vacant since Isaac Rankine, a member at the time, was appointed as labour minister last September during the final two months of the PACT Government and therefore resigned from PAC. Since Wayne Panton was ousted as premier in mid-November 2023, the emerging UPM Government has failed to deal with the PAC vacancy.
A spokesperson for the House of Parliament said that a draft government motion has now been presented to them to deal with the empty seat, which will significantly improve PAC’s ability to meet “amidst many busy and conflicting schedules”. It is understood that the motion will be dealt with when MPs meet on 26 February.
PAC Chairperson Roy McTaggart said he looked forward to holding the hearing in March and moving forward with other outstanding items and reports from the OAG.
The PAC will be reviewing the report, Financial Reporting of the Cayman Islands Government: General Report 31 December 2022, in which the auditor general raised a number of concerns, especially about procurement. Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson was to be called as a witness along with Accountant General Matthew Tibbetts and Central Procurement Office Director Taraq Bashir. Deputy Governor Franz Manderson has also been invited to provide evidence to the committee.
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Category: Government oversight, Politics
Same tactic as with Immigration. Don’t hear any PR or status applications because the board just doesn’t meet, or if it does, only deals with sham marriages. Avoids having to deal with those pesky valid applications – just ignore them. Now the board has been changed, but it is still not hearing any applications because the new board is still “receiving training”. The dump deal – just hope it all goes away or defer a resolution so the next government has to deal with it. Avoid difficult issues or politically unpopular decisions by simply ignoring them – Cayman government administration world class at kicking the can.
Well, JOCC and Dwayne were part of the last administration, to which the OAG’s damning Report applies. Therefore, JOCC has self-interested reason to not want the PAC to publically review the Report because it will reflect badly on her as well when she was under Alden’s heel.
Prove us wrong JOCC and let’s have a look at the Report PUBLICALLY.
Once you become an elected MP you are guaranteed a huge salary for four years even if you do nothing and with zero accountability.
Why not name the disgraceful lazy people who did not show up?
What the hell is the excuse?
Caymanians need to get off their political asses and start holding their politicians to the fire.
Until we do that this sort of nonsense will continue with our ridiculously highly paid elected representatives.
Exactly who did not show up? Names please.
Who prevented quorum by not showing up?
Joey “Who?” (surprise!) and McKeeva.
Joey off island. Mac in West Bay. Who should have showed up?
FYM? This isn’t a pissing contest, PPM bot. Both of them, obviously, should have showed up and done their JOB.
Mac 10.43am
JuJu too busy thinking up ways to placate her obsessive spending desires to manage the country.
Clearly a deliberate oversight to defer the truth and quiet possibly misappropriation of public funds.
To be honest, rubber stamping terrible spending, and failing procurement processes has been the open status quo for over a decade. Ezzard barely blew the rusty whistle around his neck until the final close out of his career. What’s still missing is the accountability and consequence. Until the Election Law is amended to prohibit convicted criminals, and their ilk from office, we will position dishonest to obstruct good governance in our legislature, mishandle public money, apply opacity to disclosure duties, shirk accountability, and reward those loyal to the sham.
9.33am Agree except comments about Ezxard. He always tried to do his job.
Well, the historic record holds that there were libraries of spending that were unanimously approved, including opaque budget re-shuffles, backroom developer deals, and procurement failures, all on his supposed watch and oversight. Public (and FCU) were kept in the dark on most of it. If Ezzard wants to come clean and file the missing criminal reports, that would be great. There is no statute of limitations on doing the right thing.
Blind Bartimaeus could see through this ploy. Right Mac?
Especially now that the “Nation Building” slush fund has made it’s long anticipated comeback.
What was McKeeva doing that was more important than his job?
Getting money for a church for his bayers so they continue to vote for him.
Don’t appoint a person to the committee so that there can be no oversight of government spending – creative!
We have a UDP government and as such “oversight” is not applicable .
Interesting enough, this UPM Government has a Premier:
(1) who ran with the PPM last time (after two successive terms as Minister in the PPM-led coalitions), and
(2) who has not been confirmed to have resigned from the PPM political party (even after walking across the aisle on swearing in day for Parliament and joining the PACT and then subsequently becoming the new Premier of the UPM).
Is Governmen of the PPM, UDP, UPM, reshuffled PACT or all of the above?
PPM members in Parliament are the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker.
PPM pulled a fast one on everyone.
While appointing a new member please also replace Mac Bush with another MP. It is a shame to have him on any committee while awaiting trial on sexual assault charges.
A shame? It’s a disgrace that he’s anywhere near the House of Parliament!
Slack just slack! 3 months to appoint a committee member. smh in wonder.
Somebody didn’t show up right…?
Real sense of duty.
Wonder who didn’t show up?