Parliament to establish PAC

THE Parliament today intends to unveil a bill that would streamline its Standing Committees by merging some committees and set up a Public Accounts Committee (PAC). According to the Deputy Speaker in Charge of Political Affairs, Denis Polisi, the standing committees will be reduced from 11 to nine. “We intend to amend the organic law establishing internal rules of the Chamber of Deputies and it is this bill that will specify which committee will remain operational and those that will be merged,” said Polisi. “The establishment of the Public Accounts Committee would lead to offloading some of the workload that the Committee on Budget and National Patrimony had”. If established, the PAC would be charged with issues relating to analysis of the report of the Auditor General with respect to the use of national budget and patrimony. It would also be charged with follow-up on the implementation of resolutions adopted by the Plenary Assembly during the analysis of the report of the Auditor General of State Finances, consideration, study and submission of report on general accounts of institutions which use national budget and patrimony, and preparation of reports on the use of national budget. Some of the changes that will be made on the committees include merging the Standing Committee on Security and Territorial Integrity into the Political Affairs committee to form the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Political Affairs and National Security. The Committee on Gender and Family Promotion will merge with that of Social affairs to form the Committee on Gender, Family Promotion and Social Affairs. The Committee in charge of conduct of Deputies and assessment of the Chamber of Deputies activities will be merged with that of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation forming The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Parliamentary Cooperation and Relations. The Committee on Petitions of the Population was scrapped and its business will now be dealt with by PAC. Ends