News
Pera Uni questioned over waste, corruption and irregularities
By Shamindra Ferdinando
In the absence of proper scrutiny over a period of time at the highest level, there had been waste, corruption and irregularities at the Peradeniya University, the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) reported based on a recent examination of the University.
The parliamentary watchdog on Aug. 08 questioned the top management of the university pertaining to instructions issued on March 22 2023, when the university officials appeared before the House Committee.
COPE Chairman Prof. Ranjith Bandara chaired the meeting while Auditor General W.P.C. Wickremaratne raised a number of questions and made observations.Education Ministry Secretary Nihal Ranasinghe, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Senior Prof. Sampath Amaratunga and Vice Chancellor of Perdeniya University Prof. M.D. Lamawansha and several senior representatives of the University attended the meeting.
Based on the findings made by the Auditor General, the COPE at the onset raised irregularities, corruption and fraudulent activities relating to constructions at the Peradeniya University. Having discussed the prevailing issues , Prof. Bandara asked Education Ministry Secretary Nihal Ranasinghe to probe issues at hand and report to the watchdog within three months.
The failure on the part of the University to collect Rs 25 mn from 63 University dons who had left the country for foreign Universities before 2010 was raised at the meeting. The current management admitted that it wasn’t aware of the whereabouts of those lecturers. The COPE pointed out that since 2010, altogether 122 Peradeniya dons had violated their agreements with the University.
During the proceedings, it was revealed that a Sri Jayewardenepura don had secured an appointment overseas using fraudulent documents.The COPE also directed Prof. Amaratunga to make it compulsory for non-academic staff to use the biometric attendance system. Instructions have been issued after University management acknowledged that some sections of non-academic staff didn’t use the machines.
When the COPE inquired about misappropriation of Rs 3.2 mn by an official, the University management said that of the two persons who had been interdicted in this regard, one was abroad.
AG Wickremaratne questioned the university management regarding the payments made to the husband of a dead don to the tune of Rs 7 mn. Pointing out that the complicity on the part of the University in making the payments and facilitating the process on the basis of fraudulent documents, the official pointed out that such incidents tarnished the image of the University. Referring to the incident that had happened in 2020, Wickremaratne pointed out that all payments had been made in violation of relevant laws.
The COPE also questioned the non-use of an auditorium built over six years back at a cost of R 7.5 mn and the failure on the part of the university to complete a computer network. The project launched six years back at a cost of Rs 8.3 mn had not been completed, the COPE pointed out.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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