News
National Audit Office facing critical shortage of staff due to low salaries
The Auditor General’s Department has informed the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) of the difficulty in securing the services of qualified personnel due to prevailing low salary scales. Officials appearing before CoPF on behalf of the Auditor General recently disclosed that at present there were only 35 officials at the level of Chartered Accountant serving the National Audit Office. They blamed the prevailing salary scales for the failure to attract new Chartered Accountants and to retain those serving at the moment, parliament sources said.
This transpired when the CoPF considered the budget estimates of the National Audit Office for the year 2026. The CoPF approved the budget estimates.
In the absence of Dr. Harsha de Silva, Chair of the Committee on Public Finance, who was overseas, the Committee met under the chairmanship of Rauff Hakeem, attorney at law. A group of officials representing the National Audit Office including G.H.D. Dharmapala, Acting Auditor General, as well as officials from the Department of National Budget, were present.
Attention was drawn to the issues prevailing in the National Audit Office. Discussions were held on issues including the staff shortage and the introduction of modern technology at the Audit Office, which audits nearly 2,000 institutions including ministries, departments, foreign projects and state enterprises at the Committee meeting.
In addition, attention was also drawn to the importance of establishing an office system at the provincial level under the National Audit Office, and the possibility of enhancing efficiency with a minimum number of staff through the use of modern technological features such as Artificial Intelligence.
News
Karu argues against scrapping MPs’ pension as many less fortunate members entered Parliament after ’56
Former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing concerns over the proposed abolition of MPs’ pensions.The letter was sent in his capacity as Patron of the Former Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
In his letter, Jayasuriya noted that at the time of Sri Lanka’s independence, political participation was largely limited to an educated, affluent land-owning elite. However, he said a significant social transformation took place after 1956, enabling ordinary citizens to enter politics.
He warned that under current conditions, removing parliamentary pensions would effectively confine politics to the wealthy, business interests, individuals engaged in illicit income-generating activities, and well-funded political parties. Such a move, he said, would discourage honest social workers and individuals of modest means from entering public life.
Jayasuriya also pointed out that while a small number of former MPs, including himself, use their pensions for social and charitable purposes, the majority rely on the pension as a primary source of income.
He urged the President to give due consideration to the matter and take appropriate action, particularly as the government prepares to draft a new constitution.The Bill seeking to abolish pensions for Members of Parliament was presented to Parliament on 07 January by Minister of Justice and National Integration Dr. Harshana Nanayakkara.
Five suspects, including former Minister Johnston Fernando and his two sons, who were arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), were further remanded until 30 January by the Wattala Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The former Minister’s , sons Johan Fernando and Jerome Kenneth Fernando, and two others, were arrested in connection with the alleged misuse of a Sathosa vehicle during Fernando’s tenure as Minister.
Investigations are currently underway into the alleged misuse of state property, including a lorry belonging to Lanka Sathosa, which reportedly caused a significant financial loss to the state.
In connection with the same incident, Indika Ratnamalala, who served as the Transport Manager of Sathosa during
Fernando’s tenure as Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, was arrested on 04 January.
After being produced before the Wattala Magistrate’s Court, he was ordered to be remanded in custody until 09 January.The former Sathosa Transport Manager was remanded on charges of falsifying documents.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) yesterday informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that indictments had been filed in the Colombo High Court against former Minister and NDF Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake over a corruption allegation.
The Bribery Commission notified the court when the case, in this regard, was taken up yesterday before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama.
At the hearing, the CIABOC notified the court that indictments had been presented before the Colombo High Court against the accused.
Accordingly, concluding the proceedings before the Magistrate’s Court, the Magistrate ordered MP Dassanayake to appear before the High Court once a notice was issued.
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