PAC Chairman’s Report Doesn’t Reflect What Was Discussed – Patrick Faber

Patrick Faber

Despite being notified that some members of the Public Accounts Committee would not attend the last session, Chairman Espat reportedly went ahead and called a meeting for January tenth.  Deputy Prime Minister Faber explains what took place in the wake of that decision.

Patrick Faber, Deputy Prime Minister

“He knew fully well that we had indicated that we are working on what would be the majority report for the committee to consider to send back to the National Assembly.”

Reporter

“Sir, he is alluding that the government’s side is attempting to gloss over some of the things or some of the financial wrongdoings within the ministries.”

Patrick Faber

“Absolutely not.  In fact, if you check the records there are recordings of all these meetings.  You will see that the discussions, the deliberations that we had over the various aspects of the auditor general’s report were openly discussed.  In fact, there were many, many occasions where we agreed on practices that may have gone wrong and what can be done to fix them, but yet when the report came out some of these things were not reflected in it and that is what really took us aback.  So our position is, it is okay.  The regulations allow for a minority side to have a different view.  It allows for two reports to be tabled back to the House of Representatives, so that is all fine and well.  He has a different view, we have a different view.  Both reports will be taken back.  But what I don’t appreciate from him is his seeking the media’s attention when he knows in fact that we are working on what will become the majority report.  In fact, from December we had scheduled a meeting for the fifteenth of January which was to be yesterday.  Because he threw us under the bus, so to speak, we weren’t in a hurry to do that meeting yesterday, that is true, but we’ve now scheduled it for next week Tuesday.”