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Yesterday PUP Deputy Leader and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Julius Espat told us that the Auditor General had let him down when she wrote to him saying that she would not investigate the Petrocaribe loan motion while it was before the House of Representatives. She said it would be premature.

Well, now Espat has formally written back to her saying that even if the motion – once adopted - will have the force of law and can authorize the borrowing, he says it can't give the authority to spend the loan proceeds which have already been spent. So Espat advises, her investigation would not be premature, instead, he says it would be late. He closes by saying, quote, "This matter simply cannot…be side-stepped but must be confronted squarely. It would be a complete abdication of responsibility, by both your office and mine, to sit and watch over two hundred million dollars in public funds expended in an unlawful manner and without the requisite level of transparency or accountability."

And while Chairman Espat appears passionate about the 114 million US dollars in Petrocaribe funds – we note that his passion did not drive him to last Tuesday's meeting of the Finance and Economic Development Committee – of which he is a member. That meeting was convened to discuss the Petrocaribe loan motion. Neither opposition member attended – but it did have a quorum and it did proceed with four government members.