In the wake of public condemnation about perceived unlawful actions regarding the tabling of the MCU report, the House Speaker has sought to clarify his initial comments on the matter.
During Tuesdays sitting of the lower house the Opposition raised questions as to why the report from the Auditor General on the probe into corruption allegations at the Caribbean Maritime University, was not tabled.
In a release this afternoon, House Speaker Pearnel Charles Snr said he wanted to clarify information placed in the public domain concerning the tabling of a particular Auditor General’s report in parliament.
Charles said any exchange on the matter should not be construed as reluctance to table the report.
The Speaker said he intends to have the report tabled at the next sitting of the house representatives.
The response from the House Speaker come just hours after the National Integrity Action, raised concern about a dangerous precedent being set, with a house speaker deciding on when to table reports.
NIA Executive Director Professor Trevor Munroe agreed with others who have pointed out that the constitution does not provide for such discretion.
The NIA head also noted that if it’s accepted that a House Speaker delayed, on his own discretion the tabling of an Auditor General’s report, such an action, would create a dangerous precedent which any future administration could use to undermine the responsibility of parliament to provide effective oversight in the use of public funds.
Professor Munroe said this delay runs counter to the most recent advice of the International Monetary Fund, regarding better monitoring of public funds, so as to improve long standing gaps in transparency and accountability.
Meantime, the Opposition Peoples National Party has described the House Speaker’s failure to table the Auditor General’s special report on the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) as a disturbing development.
In a statement today, PNP General Secretary Julian Robinson said such action, signals what he called the continuation of the JLP administration’s effort to cover up the corrupt practices within the government in general, and at CMU in particular.
The PNP says the speaker of the house is duty bound under the Jamaican constitution to cause the tabling of this report, adding that he has no authority to delay or prevent the tabling of such reports to the parliament.