Minority Leader: PAC must urgently discuss 2024 Auditor General's report

TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Minority Leader Kelvon Morris has called for an urgent meeting of the assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to discuss the 2024 report of the Auditor General.

In a statement on July 21, the Office of the Minority Leader said Morris, the PAC chairman, had written to the clerk of the assembly requesting the “urgent convening” of a hearing to review the 2024 report of the Auditor General on the accounts of the THA.

It said the Auditor General’s findings include “a range of troubling discrepancies, including an unaccounted sum of approximately $17 million in cheques which were issued but not presented or reflected in the accounting records raising serious concerns about financial oversight.

In the statement, Morris also emphasised that while the committee had met periodically for planning, it had not been able to carry out any formal investigations or public hearings during the current term, thus limiting its ability to scrutinise spending and promote accountability.

It quoted Morris as saying, “The PAC is the only internal mechanism of the assembly with the authority to monitor the stewardship of public funds. For too long, this oversight function has been dormant and the result is a growing crisis of accountability.”

He further noted that the release of the Auditor General’s Report presented “a critical opportunity to finally initiate long-overdue scrutiny, not only of the specific issues highlighted in the report, but of the wider trends in financial governance under the current administration.

“This moment cannot be allowed to pass. It is time to restore public confidence in our institutions. The people of Tobago deserve transparency, honesty and responsible management of their money,” Morris added.

The Darrel Spring/Whim assemblyman reaffirmed his commitment to keeping the public informed and pledged to advocate for full and fair hearings where departmental heads and accounting officers can be held to account.

As the island prepares for upcoming THA elections, Morris encouraged citizens to take note of what he considered to be “the continued lack of transparency and the deep disregard for public financial management that has come to characterise the current THA.

“Accountability should never be an after-thought. It must be the foundation of governance. That’s the standard the people of Tobago deserve – and that’s the standard I will continue to fight for.”

In its report, the Auditor General raised concerns about $6.8 million in overseas travel payments, which, it said, could not be verified owing to the absence of the necessary documentation.

It said the transactions were processed by way of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) but without supporting records. As such, auditors could not verify who travelled, where and at what cost.

The report also queried the assembly’s spending on contract and short-term employment and security services.

It spent $226.9 million on contract employment and $21.6 million on short-term employees. The report said the THA was the second-highest spender on contract staff among all ministries and agencies.