This Committee scrutinises the value for money – the economy, efficiency and effectiveness – of public spending and generally holds the government and its civil servants to account for the delivery of public services. As delivery models for public services have changed, so the reach of the Committee, in following the taxpayer’s pound, has spread beyond government departments to also examine public bodies and private companies providing public services – UK Parliament
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is an important working committee of parliament, Its purpose is to be a watchdog of public spending. It is unfortunate that in our post-independence period the PAC has not prosecuted the many obvious cases of financial malfeasance read the flouting of the financial rules of government. The BU household is not surprised that the attempt to call three ministers of government to account – Chris Sinckler, Denis Kellman and Michael Lashley – has become mired in ‘process’ issues. What is new!
An ineffective PAC translates to an ineffective Auditor General whose many reports laid in parliament have been largely ignored by the political class. It has become a pointless exercise by the media (traditional and social) to highlight the Auditor General reports and the workings of the PAC. The BU household is pleased to read about attempts to enforce the law in an attempt to breath life into the PAC and by extension the Auditor General’s office –these are after all important organs of our governance system designed to ensure the people’s business is well managed.
We live in hope.
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