Will the public get to see the Auditor General’s report on the Ministry of Defense’s financial records once it is completed? That was the question we put to Prime Minister John Briceño today. But his answer was not a clear yes. The PM says he cannot guarantee that the report will be released immediately, explaining that he first needs time to review it. That raises another important question tonight: why does the Prime Minister need to look over the findings before the public gets to see what is inside?
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Well again, the audit is ongoing right now and I need to see what they are talking and the report goes to the financial secretary, not to me. Obviously as the minister of finance I will get a copy of it. But I don’t see why we would not make that audit public.”
Reporter
“Immediately?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I wouldn’t say immediately. I would have to take a look first.”
Reporter
“When it goes to the National Assembly it can’t be altered anyway. So why would you need to say I would need to look at it first?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Because that is the process. The process is we get the report and we table it to the National Assembly. I don’t want to commit to immediately. But let me take a look at it, because I think we need to see, what is the best way to go about, but it would be made public.”
Prime Minister John Briceño says Florencio Marin and Oscar Mira will remain on administrative leave until he receives the auditor general’s report and is able to make a decision.
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