The Public Accounts Committee, it's the story that just won't go away, and even now as the Government side has mapped out an agenda to move things forward – without the opposition – there's still a lack of clarity, not to mention a compounding controversy.
The controversy is political and may never abate, but the clarity issue stems form the fact that Saldivar told the media yesterday they would follow a certain schedule, but then the National Assembly sent out a schedule saying something completely different. We asked him about the significant discrepancy today:..
Jules Vasquez
"On that agenda, it clearly shows that you will not start dealing with current or recent events until May of next year - you said you would deal with them contemporaneously."
Hon. John Saldivar - - Pro-tem Chairman, PAC
"The schedule that we have put forward is to start dealing with the pre-2008 reports on Monday's and on Wednesday's we start dealing with the 2008 moving forward. So I don't know that there's a discrepancy there."
Reporter
"Sir, that's not what the schedule has -it has 2003, 2004 on Monday, 2004, 2005 on Wednesday and all down the line including some audits from the Venenzuela situation - we don't even touch 2008 until next year at the end of May."
Hon. John Saldivar
"I'll have to check on that."
Jules Vasquez
"So, if that's on the paper - that's wrong?"
Hon. John Saldivar
"Definitely - because the Monday's are for pre-2008 and the Wednesday's are for post 2008."
Reporter
"There will be four government persons on the committee moving ahead with the PAC - is that the way you would like to see things go because obviously anybody would say, you have 4 government ministers looking at the government purse - it doesn't make sense."
Hon. John Saldivar
"It has to make sense in the sense that it is being done in a public and transparant manner and so that if there is any accusation of the government trying to slide over issues, it will be out in the public domain. These adhereing will be conducted publicly and so you will be there to judge if we're trying to hide something."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you prepared to recruse yourself if anything having to do with your minitstry of your affiliates comes up?"
Hon. John Saldivar
"I would have to take that under advisement but I don't know that anything would come up that would require me not to sit on the committee."
As has been noted many times, the hearings will be public.
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