A ruling by the Speaker has weakened the function of the Public Accounts Committee, a watchdog on government spending, its chairman Labour MP Charles Mangion charged yesterday.

Speaker Michael Frendo ruled in the morning that members of parliamentary committees could object to the summoning of people to give evidence and also request a vote on the issue. Dr Frendo’s decision was taken on a request by Dr Mangion after government MPs objected to the summoning of witnesses during the hearing by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the power station extension contract.

The ruling follows a similar one handed down by Dr Frendo last month when he decided that members of committees could request a vote on the agenda set by the chairmen. Government MPs enjoy a majority on the PAC but it is chaired by a member of the opposition.

However, Dr Frendo also said that the issue of whether or not the PAC could summon witnesses was not dependant on whether the Auditor-General had presented a report on the issue.

One of the major arguments that had been made by the government side in its objections was that calling the witnesses identified by the opposition would undermine the Auditor General who had spent 11 months investigating the case. Instead, the government MPs’ stand was that the AG himself should be summoned as a witness.

The Speaker urged members to act by consensus so that the ultimate aims of the committee would be achieved.

“The basis for the efficient running of the committees is not the rule book but common sense and cooperation between the members,” Dr Frendo said.

But Dr Mangion was not convinced. “The Speaker’s call for consensus is contradictory because the committee would be functioning at the whims of government MPs, whoever they may be,” he said.

Last month the opposition had complained that giving the government majority on the Public Accounts Committee the right to veto the agenda and the other proceedings would defeat the purpose of the committee, whose purpose is to monitor and if necessary inquire about public administration.