Parliament’s Appropriations Committee To Monitor Budget

The Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament will be monitoring spending by Government agencies more closely from now on, according to its chairman, Opposition MP Dr. Wykeham McNeill.

Opposition MP and Chairman of Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), Dr. Wykeham McNeill.

In accordance with the new fiscal responsibility framework created by the Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment)(No.2) Act, the Committee will be undertaking several measures in order to carry out its mandate to monitor Government spending and efficiency, and will be examining the budget on a quarterly basis, a release from Parliament on Thursday (March 11) said
“Under the new dispensation, what we are imposing now, what we are looking to get is for all these public bodies to give their corporate plans in a timely manner, before the start of the year, so that we can judge their performance going forward,” the release quoted Dr. McNeill as saying
In addition, any deviations from the approved estimates will have to be considered by the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee before being voted on by the House of Representatives, he added.
Dr. McNeill said that the committee also plans to break with convention and continue to meet during the budget debates, so as not to lose momentum.
The Public Administration and Appropriations Committee is one of the ten sessional committees of Parliament, and one of those which are being chaired by Opposition MPs since 2008, fulfilling a pre-election commitment given by the Government.