The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

Mr Pintard said he formally submitted the request for the second time as leader of the opposition, following a previous letter sent to Mrs Deveaux on May 26, 2023.

His latest letter, dated June 10, 2026, urged the Speaker to allow PAC proceedings to be opened to the public, broadcast live and archived, saying the change would align The Bahamas with practices across the region and internationally.

Mr Pintard said the request was made with “a deep sense of constitutional responsibility” given current restrictions on public access to PAC proceedings.

He described the committee as “one of the most critical instruments by which Parliament discharges its oversight of public expenditure”.

“Its mandate is rooted in examining ‘the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament…..and the reports of the Auditor General thereon’, with a core responsibility of determining whether public funds are expended lawfully, transparently, and with accountability and value for money,” the letter read.

“In light of the foregoing, I respectfully request: 1. Public Accounts Committee proceedings be opened to the public, subject to reasonable procedural safeguards: and 2. PAC hearings be broadcast live, and archived, on the Parliamentary Channel, or otherwise made available in full for public viewing: 3. Such openness be implemented with the concurrence of the Committee, consistent with parliamentary practice.”

Mr Pintard said the request is rooted in established principles of parliamentary governance, arguing that the Public Finance Management framework requires public resources to be managed lawfully, transparently and accountably.

He said transparency in PAC proceedings would be a natural extension of the committee’s role as the principal body responsible for examining those matters.

Mr Pintard said open and broadcast committee proceedings, particularly PAC hearings, are increasingly common across Commonwealth parliaments.

“These examples reflect a shared constitutional heritage and reinforce that openness is not a departure from Westminster tradition-it is its modern expression. The requested step- opening and broadcasting PAC proceedings - its most in implementation but profound in its democratic significance.”