November 16th, 2009: Members of the Opposition say they will not abdicate their responsibility and sit idly by allowing the NDC Administration to operate illegally as it relates to accountability and transparency of Government’s accounts. According to Opposition Leader, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, Since assuming office about 16 months ago, the NDC administration has been refusing to convene regular ordinary Finance Committee meetings. These meetings are scheduled to ensure that the accountability process is complete by giving the Opposition an opportunity to scrutinize the spending of any sitting Government. Under the NNP administration the NDC demanded that these meetings be held in accordance with the law as they purported to champion the cause for transparency and accountability. The Opposition says it is now shocking to see the same group of persons do the complete opposition to what they preached. Not only has the Government refused to convene Finance Committee meetings but the Opposition says it appears that the Government is now refusing to give the necessary support to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to carry out its responsibility which is just as serious and important as that of the Finance Committee. While in opposition, the NDC held numerous PAC meetings summoning public servants to give answers to questions relating to the spending of the government. At its first meeting in November, the Accountant General was summoned to answer questions regarding the revenue and expenditure of the Government since July 8th 2008. However the Accountant General indicated that because she was out of the State she was unable to adequately prepare the answers to the questions. She gave the assurance that all answers will be available before the next sitting which was schedule for November 16th 2009. Despite the commitment given by the Accountant General, not only was she absent for the next meeting but the written answers were also not available to members of the PAC. In addition, the PAC had summoned the Officers of the state owned Gravel and Concrete and Emulsion Production Corporation to attend a previous sitting of the PAC to answer questions relating to the income and expenditure of the State owned entity. However the Clerk responded saying that they are not prepared to come before the PAC. The Opposition views this trend as one which is a demonstration of little or no regard for the functioning of the PAC. The Opposition leader says that the PAC will continue to protect the interest of the people of Grenada, Carriacou and petite Martinique, since there must be a reason why the Government is trying to hide records of their performance. He said this is a matter that every Grenadian should be concerned about.