November 5th, 2009: Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell convened the first sitting of the Public Accounts Committee this morning. The Accountant General was called upon to answer questions relating to Government’s income and expenditure for the period July 2008 to September 2009. In his opening comments, Director of Audit Mr. Anslem Joseph explained that the Public Accounts Committee is very important as it has the responsibility to examine statements and reports of the Government before they become final. He said the accountability process cannot be complete without the Public Accounts Committee. Dr. Mitchell added that the Public Accounts Committee is even more important now since the Government has not been forthcoming in providing information relevant to the finances of the country despite several request made by the Opposition. This he said is a violation of the laws of the land which clearly states that there shall be a Finance Committee meeting at least every six months. He explains that the NDC Government has been spending illegally since they are not seeking the approval of the Parliament. This he believes is another clear indication of the Governments’ intention to hide the true financial situation from the people. The Public Accounts Committee’s function is to monitor Government expenditure while the Finance Committee under the Minister for Finance must manage and get approval for Government spending which is not being done. In response to the questions submitted by Dr. Mitchell relating to the revenue and expenditure of the NDC Administration, the Accountant General responded that she was unable to adequately prepare for the meeting and requested that additional time be provided for the preparation of a detailed report. The request was granted and the next meeting was scheduled for November 16th 2009. Parliamentary Representative for St Andrew’s North East, Hon. Roland Bhola also requested answers to two questions for the next sitting of the PAC. He said members of the Tillman Thomas administration have been trying to mislead the public to believe that funds provided for the Housing programme and the completion of the Progress Park disappeared prior to the last General Elections. Bhola therefore requested that the Accountant General provide a statement of how the monies were spent.