In a 2022 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) publication entitled “Handbook on Parliamentary Oversight: Adapting PAC Best Practices to Legislatures in Small Jurisdictions”, published jointly by the University of McGill School of Continuing Studies and the CPA, the following is said:
“Parliamentary oversight thus intrinsically entails financial oversight, which is often performed in two ways. First, ex-ante oversight: overseeing the formulation of the budget and scrutiny of the budget estimates. Second, ex-post oversight: scrutinising the executive government’s implementation of public resources, financial management, and reporting.
In Westminster-style parliaments located within and beyond the Commonwealth, specialised audit committees, often referred to as Public Accounts Committees (sic) (PACs), have traditionally been established to undertake this ex-post oversight role of public spending. The legislative auditor, typically referred to as the Office of the Auditor General (AG), is responsible for auditing government accounts and publishing audit reports that state if the Government used public funds appropriately and reported such usages adequately. Along with the government’s consolidated financial statements (the Public Accounts), the PAC reviews the AG’s reports to evaluate if government expenditure was used for the purposes for which parliament intended as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of the administration’s implementation …” (p 4).
While the publication is a valuable resource for Public Accounts Committees (PAC) in Commonwealth countries that follow the Westminster practice of having an Auditor General’s report available for PAC scrutiny, it does not contemplate any situation in which a PAC in a Commonwealth Parliament does not have that report in hand.
According to the Westminster tradition, which has been written into our Constitution, the Opposition is expected to dominate the PAC.
According to Section 119 of our Constitution:
“119. (1) There shall be a Public Accounts Committee, which shall consist of not less than six nor more than ten members.
(2) The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee shall be a member of the Opposition in the House, if any, and if willing to act. The Chairman and other members may comprise an equal number of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate as the House of Representatives may determine.”
The duties of the PAC in our Constitution are set out in Section 119(4) as follows:
“(4) The Public Accounts Committee shall consider and report to the House of Representatives on—
(a) appropriation accounts of money expended out of sums granted by Parliament to meet the public expenditure of Trinidad and Tobago;
(b) such other accounts as may be referred to the Committee by the House of Representatives or as are authorised or required to be considered by the committee under any other enactment; and
(c) the report of the Auditor General on any such accounts.”
The work of the PAC is really opposition business, and they have every right to demand that the Auditor General’s report be laid if it has been submitted in accordance with the Constitution.
The approach being adopted by the Government is that it is not satisfied with the Auditor General’s report and has sought an extension of parliamentary time for her to complete her work.
This is not a function of individual ministerial responsibility. Ministerial responsibility stops at the point of providing the Auditor General with the relevant information for her to complete her audit. After that, it is out of the minister’s hands as the Auditor General is an independent office protected by Section 136 of the Constitution.
Additionally, the Constitution provides the following in Section 116:
“(4) The Auditor General shall submit his reports annually to the Speaker, the President of the Senate and the Minister of Finance.
(5) The President of the Senate and the Speaker shall cause the report to be laid before the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, at the next sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives after the receipt thereof, respectively.
(6) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution, the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”
The minister has now obtained retroactive approval from January 31 for his ministry to submit other documents to the Auditor General and additional parliamentary time beyond April 30 for the Auditor General to complete her report. As far as the Auditor General is concerned, she has completed and submitted her report.
Prof Hamid Ghany is Professor of Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI). He was also appointed an Honorary Professor of The UWI upon his retirement in October 2021. He continues his research and publications and also does some teaching at the UWI.