Tonio Fenech has been elected the first chairman of an association that groups together parliamentary public accounts committees across the Commonwealth.
The former finance minister, who chairs Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, was elected this week during a meeting in Malta of parliamentarians and clerks from 20 Commonwealth countries.
The association was created during the Malta meeting with the aim of strengthening the effectiveness, independence and transparency of PACs in their crucial role of overseeing public finances.
“The association will promote best practices to ensure better scrutiny of how public funds are spent and will also enable MPs to share their experiences,” Mr Fenech said.
His nomination for the post was unanimously supported by all MPs members of the PAC. In Malta, the government has a majority of MPs on the PAC but the chairman is chosen by the Opposition.
Speaker Anġlu Farrugia and the Nationalist Party congratulated Mr Fenech on his appointment.