Solicitor General Marlene Aldred is expected to provide legal guidance to a parliamentary oversight committee that halted its examination of the First Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure yesterday, claiming that it could not proceed until the Government complied with stipulations under the fiscal responsibility law.
Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke tabled the First Supplementary Estimates in Parliament last week, arguably the earliest that a revised Budget had been tabled, owing to the massive impact on government expenditure and revenue.
Financial Secretary Darlene Morrison faced tough questions from members of the PAAC, who sought answers as to why the committee was being asked to review a revised Budget with significant deviations without the auditor general first reviewing and commenting on it.
Committee Chairman Dr Wykeham McNeill said that the administration had bypassed provisions in the FAA law when it referred the revised Estimates for examination without first having the auditor general and PIOJ comment on the major shifts in projected spending.
However, government backbencher and attorney-at-law Leslie Campbell asked Morrison if she had advised the committee in the past that it was not necessary to get the permission of the auditor general in relation to Supplementary Estimates.
