A donation of Rs. 100 million was made to the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” Fund by Cargills (Ceylon) PLC.

The relevant cheque was handed over on Monday (22) by Imtiaz Abdul Wahid, Managing Director of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, to Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

Dilanta Jayawardena and  Chandana Kelegama of Cargills (Ceylon) PLC were also present at the occasion.

House Committee, BASL and TISL take common stand

The Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has found fault with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for what it calls the inordinate delay in appointing a new Auditor General. CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva, in a letter dated Dec. 22 addressed to President Dissanayake, has pointed out that the Office of the AG remains vacant.

The SJBer raised the serious issue with the President close on the heels of the interventions made by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL).

Dr. de Silva has emphasised that the failure on the part of the President to fill the vacancy is a matter of serious concern. The Constitutional Council has repeatedly rejected the President’s nominee while questioning his suitability.

The following is the text of CoPF Chairman’s letter to the President: ” I wish to respectfully bring to your attention that the Office of the Auditor General has remained vacant since 7 December, following the conclusion of the tenure of the Acting Auditor General on 6 December. At present, there is neither a substantive nor an acting Auditor General in the country, and consequently, the Audit Service Commission remains without a chairman. Given the prevailing circumstances of the country, the continuous absence of this constitutionally mandated post is a matter of serious concern.

Under Article 148 of the Constitution, Parliament exercises full control over public finance. The effective exercise of this control is constitutionally dependent on the continuous functioning of an independent audit mechanism.

Article 154 of the Constitution establishes the office of the Auditor General and mandates the audit of all State institutions and the reporting of such audits to Parliament. The absence of an Auditor General disrupts this mandatory constitutional process. This mandate is further reinforced by Section 3 of tile National Audit Act, No. 19 of 2018.

Moreover, the oversight functions of the Committee on Public Accounts, and the Committee on Public Enterprises in terms of Standing Orders 119, and 120 are directly dependent on audit reports issued by the Auditor General. The continued vacancy therefore materially undermines parliamentary financial oversight.

As the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) is responsible for reviewing the budget and work programme of the National Audit Office, I consider it my duty, as the Chair of the CoPF, to urge the immediate appointment of the Auditor General.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that urgent action be taken to appoint a suitable, qualified and experienced individual as the Auditor General in accordance with Article 153(1) of the Constitutional, without further delay.”

As part of India’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’, the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Assistant High Commission in Kandy and Consulate General of India in Jaffna conducted humanitarian assistance distribution drives for families affected by Cyclone Ditwah in different parts of the country, the Indian HC said.

The text of the HC statement: “On 18 December, High Commissioner of India Santosh Jha distributed relief kits among affected families in the Kolonnawa in coordination with All Ceylon Sufi Spiritual Association and among children of Bhaktivedanta Children’s Home ‘Gokulam’ at ISKCON Temple in Colombo. Earlier this month, the High Commissioner also distributed assistance among residents of Nayanalokagama, village specially designated for the visually impaired, and among affected families in Negombo in the Gampaha District.

Between 9 and 19 December, Assistant High Commission of India in Kandy distributed essential food items and supplies among hundreds of affected families in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla Districts.

Similarly, the Consulate General of India in Jaffna carried out several distribution drives for affected families in Mannar, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, as well as island territories of the Jaffna District.

This assistance is over and above several tonnes of food and relief material handed over by India to the Government of Sri Lanka under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’.”