Sarath Chandrasiri Mayadunna, a former Auditor General, has emphasized that the only force that can stop the fraud and corruption that bankrupted the country is the National People’s Power. The party’s candidate, Anura Dissanayake, should win in this presidential election.
He stated this in a press conference held yesterday (30). He said, “We have to think a lot about the reasons that led the country to severe destruction today. The leaders who have ruled and continue to rule this country and their agents continue to make massive efforts to deceive the people on platforms and through media. The official reports prepared before we retired from service revealed how these leaders and their groups acted.
The same people who contributed to the destruction of the country are coming forward again, claiming they have a wealth of experience and can build the country. As such, we have to ask why they didn’t do those things when they were in power. We should pay attention to how they hoarded wealth to build up their generations. People have to be vigilant regarding agreements being signed at the moment. People do not know what is hidden under the signing of agreements shown in the media.
It is unclear to us how many opportunities there are to steal government money. The reports submitted by the Auditor General have been tabled in Parliament. According to the provisions of the constitution, we have prepared those reports based on official information from government institutions. We have not prepared these reports to slander any political party or for any other purpose. The reports issued so far by the Auditor General’s Department established under English rule are not secret reports. Published on the website of the Parliament and the National Audit Office. Anyone can consult more details. How the previous rulers committed fraud and corruption is confirmed as evidence in those reports and oral and official documents. However, the reports do not mention the names of the politicians or the fraud and corruption they committed. In the commonwealth model, the task is to audit institutions, not individuals. Why are politicians being accused by the reports prepared according to the company’s accounts? According to the constitution, the ministry’s secretary manages all the institutions under the command and control of his minister. Chief accounting officers are appointed in those institutions.
According to the constitution, the responsibility for the financial misuse of the institutions under him is assigned to the concerned minister first. The power to direct everything has been given to the minister. According to the audit evidence we have received, many frauds and corruptions have been committed through various actions related to the minister. Because of this, most of the relevant responsibilities do not lie with the officials but with the relevant minister. But parliamentarians and ministers especially accuse officials. However, if the minister does not accept the relevant responsibilities, it is confirmed that he needs to act appropriately. Of all financial crimes, only a small amount of responsibility is assigned to officials.
We know how the ruling party has used the power of the majority vote to act even though the responsibility for financial administration has been assigned to the Parliament. In Canada, Australia, and Great Britain, and even India, the audit reports are being debated in the Parliament. But the Standing Orders of our Parliament have given enormous power to control the executive and to take action against them if they commit any wrongdoing.
Also, under Article 148, the Parliament has been given much power regarding financial control. Concerning any institution, the two committees, the COPE and the COPA, can conduct many investigations and carry out proper accountability. But without accomplishing that, we can see how they come before the media and make statements, especially during this election period. We see that those held accountable for fraud and corruption are now speaking out to prevent such situations.
But at this time, we see how they are throwing various falsehoods and slanderous propaganda at the NPP, which is rallying against fraud and corruption. A specially selected sample revealed that a particular institution destroyed 399 billion. Reports on 35 such subjects have been brought to our attention. The two parties that came to power alternately did not inquire from the minister about such crimes. The ruling party and the majority groups of the opposition committed fraud and corruption and always suppressed them. With this presidential election, we are all at a crucial state to stop that situation.
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