Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
THE ISSUE of Letters of Undertaking and Guarantees again took the spotlight at yesterday's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.
This time the issue was a $254-million loan agreement signed between the Belgian and Jamaican governments for the purchasing of buses for the Jamaican Urban Transit Company, JUTC.
According to Auditor General, Adrian Strachan the loan agreement was not brought to Parliament for approval.
Mr. Strachan said that it was a straight loan to the government and the proceeds of the loan took the form of a provision of buses.
"What should have happened is that the related cost should have been included in the Estimates of Expenditure through the portfolio ministry and the matter brought to Parliament for parliamentary approval," he said.
"The net effect of what happened is that Parliament was kept out of the loop and the accounts did not reflect the full extent of governmental expenditure for the period under review," he explained.
He said as a result, the ministry would have to include it in set off supplementary estimates.
Mr. Strachan said this was an attempt to tidy up something that has gone wrong.
"What you are doing is rubber stamping something that has taken place," he said. "The right approach is that it ought to have been brought to Parliament on a timely basis so that it can be included in the estimates and accounts for the year in which the transaction had taken place."
But PAC members, Delroy Chuck and Abe Dabdoub insisted that there should be some form of penalty for these repeated actions by the Finance Ministry.
"Government through the Ministry of Finance has been acting illegally for many years - what they have done is undermine the authority of the elected representatives of the people," he said.
WHO IS TO RESTRAIN GOVERNMENT
"There must be some sanction when Government does this! Who is to restrain government?" he asked.
"All these things are irregular and when the Auditor General says it is illegal then, some sanction must run!" he said.
However Financial Secretary, Colin Bullock said the loan transaction was a government to government loan and it would not have fallen under the Solicitor General's opinion that letters of undertaking should be submitted to Parliament for approval.
" ... We admit the issue in terms of the accounting procedure, in terms of recognising the expenditure and the debt year in which it was undertaken," he said.
