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If you ever! Why a furious Juliet Holness stormed out of PAC meeting

Published:Tuesday | February 2, 2021 | 11:35 AM
"I was pissed!... Let me go outside and calm myself," the St Andrew East Rural Member of Parliament told PAC chairman, Julian Robinson.

A furious Juliet Holness briefly walked out of this morning's sitting of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) "terribly upset" that reports had reached the media that government members did not support a request to invite key audit personnel from the Labour Ministry to a meeting last week .

"I was pissed!... Let me go outside and calm myself," the St Andrew East Rural Member of Parliament told PAC chairman, Julian Robinson.


Holness also accused Robinson of "concerting" with the media, a claim he rejected. 

Last Tuesday, The Gleaner reported that invitations to two audit personnel from the scandal-hit ministry to appear that day with other officials could not be sent because there was no majority support. 

READ: No gov't support to invite key Labour Ministry officials to PAC meeting

Robinson's suggestion to invite the key personnel was emailed to the PAC members on Monday morning with a deadline of four o'clock that afternoon for members to indicate their positions. 


IN PHOTO: Julian Robinson

Only two members, both from the Opposition, replied supporting the suggestion. 
 
This morning, Heroy Clarke, a government member, first expressed discomfort, claiming that as a farmer, he does not readily check his emails. 

He also suggested that the proposal that came outside of a formal meeting of the committee may have been in violation of the Standing Orders which govern the operations of the Parliament.

Holness was less restrained, however, accusing the PAC chairman of trying to make Government members look bad. 

She said Robinson could have telephoned them.

"I was shocked and I was very disappointed because it means I can't trust you as a chairman ... I was shocked that behind our backs, as the chairman, you would take us not responding to an email as an indication that we are in objection and we do not support," Holness said. 

"If you do it again, Mr Chairman!" she warned, "we are going to insist that only at the meeting, which is what is required, we make our decisions."
 
"If you ever do it again!" Holness repeated, before storming out of the sitting in anger. 

She returned shortly after. 

Robinson rejected the allegations. 

"I take strong objection to what the member said," he responded. 

"An email was sent out. Two people responded in time ...member Charles (a government member) responded after ...I don't control what the media reports," he added.

The same proposal was put orally to the PAC meeting last Tuesday and was supported by members from both sides.
 
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been at the centre of a scandal over the exposure of $3.3 billion to loss or misuse over the past two years.

An Auditor General report has also revealed what appears to be a culture of unresponsiveness in the ministry to findings, lamenting disregard for procedures. 

The Sunday Gleaner has also uncovered a series of questionable financial dealings involving the National Insurance Fund which manages billions of dollars collected from an insurance tax. 

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