Sittings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have been temporarily suspended, pending a determination by the House of Assembly on procedural matters governing publication of aspects of the hearings.
Questions yesterday from Government members on the committee related to Standing Order 61 dealing with publication of aspects of the hearings gave rise to heated debate by PAC chairman, Opposition Leader Mia Mottley, Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, Government Senator Maxine McClean, Government MP Donville Inniss and other members of the committee, ending with Mottley’s decision to refer the matter to the House and ultimately the Senate.
In the process, the sole member of the Press covering the session in the Senate Chamber was asked to leave during the debate but invited to return minutes after.
While the two-and-a-half-hour debate continued inside the Senate Chamber in the presence of Auditor General Leigh Trotman and his staff, several other top public officers who had been summoned to the hearing waited in the adjoining waiting room.
