PAC To Publicly Probe Controversial Multimillion-Dollar Investments

The opposition
-led Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has agreed to launch a public investigation into two government investments totalling $7.5 million, Opposition Leader and National Democratic Party (NDP) Chairman Marlon Penn announced while also calling for scrutiny of spending under the approximately $100 million loan facility.

Penn, who chairs the PAC, said capital expenditure over the past seven years must be examined, particularly spending on water, roads and other critical infrastructure, as residents continue to face unreliable water supplies and the added expense of buying trucked water.

The PAC comprises the four Opposition members and government representative Stacy Mather, an At Large Representative.

“Following our recently concluded meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, we formally adopted our operational manual to guide the Committee’s work and agreed to move forward with a public investigation into these investments,” he stated.

The investigation will focus on the $5 million deposited with the Bank of Asia, now in receivership, and a $2.5 million investment involving Global Partners in Jamaica, which Penn said had reportedly gone bankrupt and was under investigation.

He said the committee also intended to examine other government investments made in recent years to determine whether proper procedures were followed and adequate safeguards were in place.

Penn called for answers on who authorised the investments, what due diligence was conducted, whether risks were properly assessed and what steps were being taken to recover the money.

“Let me be clear: the investigation must be fair, thorough, and guided by the evidence. We will not prejudge its findings. But neither will we turn a blind eye to serious questions involving $7.5 million in public funds,” he said.

He maintained that accountability must follow wherever the evidence establishes failures.

“Where the evidence establishes that procedures were breached or responsibilities were not properly discharged, appropriate accountability must follow. We must learn from these matters and strengthen the safeguards that protect public funds.”

Turning to infrastructure, Penn questioned what residents had received from the money borrowed and spent.

He said scrutiny of water expenditure should establish how much was allocated, which projects were undertaken and completed, and whether they delivered the improvements residents needed.

“Residents continue to experience unreliable access to potable water, and some families are forced to purchase trucked water at additional expense,” he stated.

“At a time when the cost of living is already placing enormous pressure on household budgets, this is an unacceptable burden for many families.”

Penn said the same examination must apply to roads and other infrastructure, including whether projects were completed on time, within budget and provided value for money.

He also called for a clear account of what the approximately $100 million loan facility financed, what was delivered and the obligations the Territory continued to carry.

“We cannot measure progress simply by how much a government borrows or spends. We must measure it by the quality of the roads, the reliability of the water supply, the infrastructure delivered, and the improvements people experience in their daily lives,” he said.

The comments formed part of the launch of From the Opposition Leader’s Desk: A Weekly Conversation, through which Penn said he would address national issues and discuss solutions.

He pledged to continue pressing for answers through the PAC and the wider Opposition, with further updates on the planned investigation and its next steps in the weeks ahead.