BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 14, 2022– A new Joint Public Accounts Committee (JPAC) was formed in 2021 by the Briceño administration to scrutinize public spending, and during a Senate meeting last week, Osmany Salas, the outgoing senator representing the country’s NGO’s, petitioned for the government to provide the financial support needed in its next budget to activate that committee.
“I won’t be able to debate the budget, but I want to ask our government to ensure that in the new budget there are resources in there to support the work of the Joint Public Accounts Committee, to support the clerk’s office so that they can give the support that the JPAC needs to strengthen the Auditor General,” Senator Salas stated.
He pointed out that the purpose of the JPAC is to ensure there is accountability, but they have not done any work to forward their mandate within the 7 months since its establishment.
“I hope I speak for my fellow social partners when I say how frustrated I have been that the JPAC was set up seven months ago, and we are nowhere close to doing what the JPAC was set up to do, which is to examine, consider and report on the accounts. Politics take precedence as usual,” he remarked.
UDP Albert area representative, Hon. Tracy Panton is the chairperson of the JPAC, and the other members of that committee are Hon. Julius Espat, Hon. Kareem Musa, Hon. Kevin Bernard, Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Hon. Hugo Patt, Senator Kevin Herrera, Senator Elena Smith, and Senator Osmany Salas. According to Lead Government Senator, Eamon Courtenay, however, a quorum has not yet been made within the committee.
“There is a Joint Public Accounts Committee. I didn’t hear anybody over there talk about it, I wonder why. Senator Peyrefitte, you know who chairs the JPAC? The purpose of the Joint Public Accounts Committee is to exercise oversight over public expenditure, chaired by Tracey Taegar Panton, United Democratic Party. You hear Senator Salas—seven months and absolutely nothing has been done because you all didn’t make a quorum. The chairman of the Joint Public Accounts Committee is Tracey Taegar, U.D.P. opposition. The majority of the members are not government people. You all have the majority, you have not met, and you come here and hurl words of hustle. You, Senator Peyrefitte, as the chairman of the UDP, you should get Tracey Taegar to do her work and to call the committee to scrutinize what has been done,” Hon. Eamon Courtenay retorted.
In an interview last week, the president of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, also tongue-lashed the opposition for its perceived inaction.
“I want to call on the Opposition to get their darn act together, and to start seeing that the JPAC starts functioning. We’re not interested in the nonsense that’s happening in their organization. We’re interested in the affairs of the general public. Again, approximately 200 million dollars of additional funding has passed through the House, not a single cent to empower the JPAC with experts that they will need. Not all members of the JPAC are able to interpret and analyze financial statements, and so they may need to consult people—not a single cent to empower the JPAC and the Integrity Commission so that they’re able to hold past elected officials and current elected officials accountable. Belizean people, we need to wake up. It is not Barrow’s money that was spent. It is not Briceño’s money that is being spent. It is your money that is being spent, and no one is overseeing this spending, and holding leaders accountable,” Flowers said.