News
UNP’s ‘Yowunpura’: National Youth Services Council bid to hinder audit revealed
‘Disputes among govt. appointees major obstacle’
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The parliamentary watchdog committee on public enterprises-COPE has called for an explanation as regards unauthorised expenditure on ‘Yowunpura’ in 2018 and 2019.
A recent COPE investigation has revealed huge losses and a bid to suppress the government auditing process.
According to COPE, the yahapalana government had spent Rs. 80,560,914 over the estimated cost of Rs. 350 mn. The then President Maithripala Sirisena and Preme Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe attended the 2018 event; the President skipped the event the following year.
The then minister Sagala Ratnayaka played a key role in organising the UNP’s flagship project ‘Yowunpura’ to attract the youth. COPE probe has revealed that public funds had been spent, sans proper procedures
COPE has revealed the violation of the procurement process in respect of ‘Yowunpura’ 2019 an additional payment to the tune of Rs. 2,227,400 had to be made. COPE Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath presided over the meeting. In addition to the Chairman, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera (SLPP), State Minister Susil Premajayantha (SLPP) and Madhura Withanage, MP and Premnath C. Dolawatte, MP, attended it. Those COPE members who had been with the UNP at that time and now represented the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) skipped the relevant meeting. The original COPE comprised Mahinda Amaraweera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Rohitha Abegunawardhana, Susil Premajayantha, Jayantha Samaraweera, Dilum Amunugama, Indika Anuruddha Herath, (Dr.) Sarath Weerasekara, D. V Chanaka, (Dr.) Nalaka Godahewa, Ajith Nivard Cabral (resigned to take up post of Central Bank Governor), Rauff Hakeem, Anura Dissanayaka, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Jagath Pushpakumara, Eran Wickramaratne, Ranjan Ramanayake (lost seat after being convicted by the Supreme Court for contempt of court), Nalin Bandara Jayamaha, S.M. Marikkar, Premnath C. Dolawatte, Shanakiyan Rajaputhrian Rasamanickam, and (Prof.) Charitha Herath.
The COPE also observed that Rs. 1,932,500 had been spent on 1,773 T-shirts for the distribution among youth after the conclusion of the ‘yowunpura,’ meet in 2016. The parliamentary watchdog committee pointed out that public funds had been spent without approval of a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).
It was also revealed at this Committee meeting that according to the report of the Survey Board, 268,000 leaflets had been discarded whereas the total cost of printing in 2017 was Rs. 1,822,400.
Although Sri Lanka Youth Services Pvt. Ltd. was established in 1981 with over 98% shareholding in the National Youth Services Council, it was disclosed at the Committee meeting that the joint financial had never been prepared.
Instructions pertaining to the non-disclosure of matters related to the National Youth Services Council and the Sri Lanka Youth Services Pvt. Ltd to outside parties by way of an Internal Circular issued by the Chairman of those institutions Dhammith Wickremesinghe to the Heads of Divisions on 08th October 2021 was also revealed at the COPE Committee. The Committee pointed out that it hindered the work of the National Audit Office and the Ministry of Youth & Sports.
Prof. Herath urged Sports Ministry Secretary Anuradha Wijekoon and Youth Services Chief Dhammith Wickremesinghe to stop fighting and work towards achieving government goals. Lawmaker Prof. Herath emphasized that cooperation among key state institutions was of pivotal importance.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Youth & Sports and the Chairman of the National Youth Services Council and the Sri Lanka Youth Services Pvt. Ltd. should co-operate or face the consequences, Prof. Hearth said. Their failure to do so would be a serious impediment to the government, Prof. Herath told the COPE meeting last Tuesday (16)
The COPE Chairman also instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Youth & Sports, Anuradha Wijekoon, to take immediate action against officials who were found to be negligent and misbehaving.
The Committee also noted that the Sri Lanka Youth Services Pvt. Ltd. had not prepared a consolidated plan since 2017. The Committee also questioned the company for not preparing an action plan.
The Chairman of the Committee Prof. Charitha Herath stated that there was a delay in the submission of the Annual Reports of the National Youth Services Council to Parliament and also questioned the non-submission of the Annual Reports of the Sri Lanka Youth Services Pvt. Ltd. since 2015. The Committee also directed the Ministry of Youth & Sports to submit all such reports to Parliament expeditiously.
Although it was decided to construct the Nilwala Youth Park in Matara by a Cabinet decision, COPE pointed out that no feasibility study had been carried out in that regard. The Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training paid Rs. 142,810,543 as compensation and interest to the relevant land owners and Rs. 7,657,349 as advisory fees to the National Youth Services Council as at 31st December 2014.
Family sources have confirmed that the interment of singer Latha Walpola will be performed at the General Cemetery Borella on Wednesday (31 December).
In an environmental initiative commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy, the Western Naval Command organized a cleanup programme at Galle Face Beach on Saturday (27 Dec 25).
The programme focused on the removal of substantial solid waste littering the beachfront, including accumulated plastic and polythene debris. All collected wastey was systematically disposed of utilizing methods designed to safeguard the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to the cause, the cleanup effort saw the participation of the Commander Western Naval Area and a group of over 200 naval personnel.
Sri Lanka’s environmental protection framework is rapidly eroding, with weak law enforcement, politically driven development and the routine sidelining of environmental safeguards pushing the country towards an ecological crisis, leading environmentalists have warned.
Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), has said the growing environmental damage across the island is not the result of regulatory gaps, but of persistent failure to enforce existing laws.
“Sri Lanka does not suffer from a lack of environmental regulations — it suffers from a lack of political will to enforce them,” Pathragoda told The Sunday Island. “Environmental destruction is taking place openly, often with official knowledge, and almost always without accountability.”
Dr. Pathragoda has said environmental impact assessments are increasingly treated as procedural formalities rather than binding safeguards, allowing ecologically sensitive areas to be cleared or altered with minimal oversight.
“When environmental approvals are rushed, diluted or ignored altogether, the consequences are predictable — habitat loss, biodiversity decline and escalating conflict between humans and nature,” Pathragoda said.
Environmental activist Janaka Withanage warned that unregulated development and land-use changes are dismantling natural ecosystems that have sustained rural communities for generations.
“We are destroying natural buffers that protect people from floods, droughts and soil erosion,” Withanage said. “Once wetlands, forests and river catchments are damaged, the impacts are felt far beyond the project site.”
Withanage said communities are increasingly left vulnerable as environmental degradation accelerates, while those responsible rarely face legal consequences.
“What we see is selective enforcement,” he said. “Small-scale offenders are targeted, while large-scale violations linked to powerful interests continue unchecked.”
Both environmentalists warned that climate variability is amplifying the damage caused by poor planning, placing additional strain on ecosystems already weakened by deforestation, sand mining and infrastructure expansion.
Pathragoda stressed that environmental protection must be treated as a national priority rather than a development obstacle.
“Environmental laws exist to protect people, livelihoods and the economy,” he said. “Ignoring them will only increase disaster risk and long-term economic losses.”
Withanage echoed the call for urgent reform, warning that continued neglect would result in irreversible damage.
“If this trajectory continues, future generations will inherit an island far more vulnerable and far less resilient,” he said.
Environmental groups say Sri Lanka’s standing as a biodiversity hotspot — and its resilience to climate-driven disasters — will ultimately depend on whether environmental governance is restored before critical thresholds are crossed.
By Ifham Nizam ✍️
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