NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Speaker of the House of Assembly Halson Moultrie today overturned former House Speaker Dr Kendal Major’s 2015 ruling on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which prohibited the opposition-led committee from carrying out further inquiries into the auditor general’s report ahead of its tabling.
In his first act as an independent speaker since resigning from the Free National Movement (FNM) last week, Moultrie indicated that over the years, the legislative branch of government has been diluted and diminished.
The speaker reinstated the scope and powers of the PAC, repealing Major’s ruling.
“The oversight functions of the executive branch have been diluted and diminished over the years by principally two areas,” Moultrie said.
“Number one: it has been negatively and adversely affected by a decision that was made on 13 May, 2015 by the 53rd speaker of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“And secondly, it is being negatively impacted by the fact [that] for a series of administrations now, administrations have refused to be answerable to the legislature.
“This is undemocratic and unconstitutional.
“So, it is the ruling of this chair with respect to the decision made by former Speaker Dr the Honorable Kendal Major on the scope and power of the Public Accounts Committee made of the 13th day of May, 2015…that [that] decision is now overturned and set aside.
“The details of this decision and the reasons will be presented for those who wish to examine the legality and the constitutionality of my decision.
“In essence, the scope and powers of the Public Accounts Committee is hereby restored.”
Moultrie said these include the powers to investigate or review all past, current and committed government expenditure; to choose subjects and witnesses for examination; and to compel their attendance without government direction, intervention or advice, among other powers.
The speaker also said the PAC will have the authority to act on information whether or not the source of the information first comes from Parliament through the auditor general.
He added that the committee must be uninhibited in its duties to review government expenditure and no attempt to “whittle it down can be entertained”.
The former speaker’s ruling centered around the auditor general’s report on the Christie administration’s Urban Renewal Program.
Major said given that the report was not tabled in the House at the time, it could not “attract the scrutiny of the PAC”.
He said it was up to the House to decide, by way of resolution, on a motion brought for the purpose on whether it wished for the report to be tabled and referred to the PAC, following which the powers, papers and records powers could be properly invoked.
Major ruled on the matter three weeks after then Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson determined that the PAC’s move to summon then Urban Renewal Co-Chairs Algernon Allen and Cynthia “Mother” Pratt, after they refused to appear before the PAC, was “illegally improper” because the auditor general’s report had not been laid before Parliament.
Then PAC Chairman Hubert Chipman, as well as PAC members Peter Turnquest and Richard Lightbourn, said the speaker’s ruling effectively rendered the committee useless.
When Moultrie resigned from the FNM, he cited a “divergent and untenable relationship” with the governing party.
Today’s ruling comes days after Major reportedly told a local daily he would not have handled the situation in the same way as Moultrie did, and felt the government should not push the speaker but instead allow him to continue to serve as an independent MP and speaker of the House.
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