Julius Espat
On the opposition side, P.U.P. Deputy Leader and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Julius Espat, is suing the government over the Petrocaribe Loans Act; this afternoon he chimed in on the latest development involving the use of the funds which are purportedly being used to pay salaries. He sat down with the media to essentially reiterate what he has been saying for quite some time, that the use of Petrocaribe funds without proper accountability is unlawful. In fact, it is central to his lawsuit against the prime minister that’s presently before the courts.
Julius Espat, Deputy Leader, PUP
“It just justifies what we have been saying for the longest, since I became chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that government is not being honest with us. They’re not giving us the information and that is why we have been asking for accountability for so long. The only way that you can trust a government is if that they come clear and they show the accounts, and they have not and this is just one clear example of what is happening. We are getting information after the fact, maybe that’s why they past the law saying that they will do things and then saying that they will come to the House afterwards to ratify it because they don’t want us to be able to have dialogue and debate on the issues before they make the decision and that’s where I feel that we are failing. See, transparency in the House is the debates. Transparency is what you guys bring out. It brings it out to the forefront and people discuss it and ideas come forward and then you go to the House for a debate again and it’s discussed again at another level and then the decision is made, not the opposite way. So it just confirms what we have been saying. Lack of accountability and lack of honesty and integrity with how our monies are being spent.”
Isani Cayetano
“Shouldn’t the Petrocaribe funds be spent on social programs as it was initially earmarked for and now it seems as if though we are moving away from that for use in other areas.”
Julius Espat
“We believe, we fundamentally believe that the Petrocaribe funds are being used for political use. Who is to tell you that the salaries that are being paid are not public service salaries but are contract officers? That has to be the question that needs to be asked.”
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