(Kaieteur News) – The office of the leader of the opposition has accused the government of deliberately stonewalling the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), noting that a fifth attempt to convene the body failed on Monday because government members once again failed to show up.

The opposition said the repeated delays are preventing scrutiny of billions of dollars in public spending.

According to a release Monday, PAC Chairman, Vishnu Panday was still awaiting a response from government members on whether they would attend the scheduled sitting. The office said four previous attempts to hold meetings had already collapsed because government representatives were unavailable.