The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC Accounts Committee Chairman Hubert Chipman has said the group’s investigation into Urban Renewal 2.0 revealed that the programme is no different from any other government entity where “there are things that need to be fixed”.

He said while the PAC’s report on the investigation is complete, he would prefer not to make the findings public at this time.

The St Anne’s MP added that if all goes well, he plans to table the report in the House of Assembly by mid-March.

Mr Chipman was asked to give an update on the committee’s probe during a press conference at the Free National Movement’s headquarters yesterday.

“Soon and very soon (it will be brought to the House of Assembly),” Mr Chipman said.

“I would say as far as the Urban Renewal report is concerned it is completed. I spoke to Minister (Shane) Gibson last week at the House and I told him that it is now being refined. As soon as it is refined we will release it to the rest of the committee for them to have whatever they want to say on it. But the report is complete, it really is.”

Asked whether the PAC was able to find anything earth shattering, he responded: “I would prefer not to comment on that right now but as with every government organisation there are things that need to be fixed and I would say Urban Renewal is no exception.”

Last April, Auditor General Terrance Bastian’s scathing report into Urban Renewal’s Small Homes Repair programme was leaked to the press and sparked months of heated debate over the management of Urban Renewal and possible abuse of funding.

The PAC subsequently called for the initiative’s co-chairs – Cynthia “Mother” Pratt and Algernon Allen - to appear before a scheduled hearing with the group concerning the specifics of the audit. The co-chairs responded by saying that they could not make the meeting because of short notice and prior engagements.

In a letter, however, the co-chairs also said the audit was illegal because it had not gone through proper parliamentary channels and had not been tabled in the House of Assembly.

Further pointing out that the report was incomplete, the co-chairs said they would appear before the PAC at an appropriate date only if the report was removed from the scope of questioning.

House Speaker Dr Kendal Major later ordered the PAC to “stay its hand” regarding the probe until the audit was tabled in the House of Assembly.

Last July, Prime Minister Perry Christie tabled the report, giving the PAC the green light to interview persons and send for people without interference in its Urban Renewal probe. Mr Christie said the government was prepared to facilitate the work of the PAC.

In June, it was revealed that the government commissioned its own independent report into Urban Renewal’s SHR project.

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the report was commissioned as a result of “areas of discrepancy” in Mr Bastian’s report on Urban Renewal.

That report, which was also tabled last July, found that the first phase of the SHR programme received value for money and contradicted areas of Mr Bastian’s audit.