2023-03-08
In order to investigate the matters raised by the special audit report on the functioning of the Central Cultural Fund and to examine the progress of the implementation of recommendations given by COPE, a committee meeting was held yesterday (Mar. 07) under the chairmanship of Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara.
The Internal Inquiry Committee appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry to investigate the matters raised in the said Special Audit Report for the purpose of reporting to COPE was discussed at length.
Furthermore, in the last meeting, there was a discussion at length about holding the meetings of the governing council of the Central Cultural Fund and whether the funds have been properly spent, and the committee members had agreed to discuss the validity of the 209th meeting of the governing council in this meeting.
Accordingly, the Auditor General pointed out that only 07 of the 11 members have agreed to the decisions of the 209th meeting and 04 including the former Prime Minister have not signed. Stating that there is a discrepancy between the signatures used by the 07 signatories on the signature list of this meeting and the signatures used by them in the previous governing board meetings, the Auditor General pointed out that the decisions of the 209th governing board meeting have not been adopted in the 210th meeting.
The Auditor General also stated that the then Prime Minister's Secretary and the current President's Secretary, who were members of the relevant governing body, confirmed that he was not a party to such a meeting.
Accordingly, followed by extensive discussion, the COPE Chair gave the following recommendations to the Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.
01. Appointment of a committee headed by a retired court judge to investigate the issues raised by the special audit report of the Central Cultural Fund for the period 2015 – 2019.
02. Dissolution of the singular internal investigation committee for the purpose of reporting to COPE appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry to investigate the matters raised in the said Special Audit Report.
03. To check the validity of the signature list of the 209th meeting, to refer the list to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Government Inspector.
04. Recall the Central Cultural Fund before the Committee to review the progress of the recommendations made by COPE on the matters raised by the Special Audit Report on the functioning of the Fund.
05. To make the report of the new committee proposed which is to be appointed to investigate the functioning of the Central Cultural Fund and present it before COPE within 03 months.
In addition to this, the committee members focused on the future plans of COPE, and the institutions that should be prioritized. The Chair mentioned that he had already discussed it with the Auditor General. Accordingly, the chair mentioned that investigations will be carried out by sub-committees through a cluster committee system and a system of calling only the institutions with essential and current importance to the main committee will be facilitated.
State Ministers Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, Hon. Lohan Ratwatte, Hon. Indika Anuruddha Herath, Hon. D. V. Chanaka, Hon. Shantha Bandara Members of Parliament, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Hon. Rohitha Abegunawardhana, Hon. Eran Wickramaratne, Hon. Nimal Lanza, Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha, Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri, Hon. SM Marikkar, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, Hon. M. Rameshwaran, Hon. Rajika Wickramasinghe, Hon. Madhura Withanage, Hon. (Prof) Charitha Herath were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-10-08
The Committee on Public Finance recently summoned officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to Parliament to inquire into the financial irregularities identified at NDB Bank and the final audit report relating to the matter.The Committee meeting, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva, discussed irregularities identified in NDB Bank’s financial statements, shortcomings in the audit process, and the relevant audit reports.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, and Nishantha Jayaweera, as well as Hon. Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith Agalakada, Nimal Palihena, Wijesiri Basnayake, M.K.M. Aslam, Champika Hettiarachchi, and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.The Committee also focused on the findings of the investigation conducted by the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAAMB), as well as the findings revealed through the investigation conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. In particular, the Committee inquired into the failure of the external auditors to identify irregularities in NDB Bank’s financial statements.The accountability of senior management with regard to corporate governance and risk management in relation to the financial irregularities was also discussed.Furthermore, as a significant proportion of NDB Bank’s shares are held by institutions representing public and state funds, the Committee also considered the potential impact of such financial irregularities on public funds and the general public.The Committee also discussed the progress made by LankaPay in establishing a centralized fraud monitoring system to prevent fraud within the financial system. The need to strengthen fraud monitoring systems at the individual bank level to monitor transactions carried out within each bank was also emphasized.Accordingly, the following observations are included in the final audit report concerning the financial irregularities at NDB Bank:1. The audit covers the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2026. The audit report specifically identifies the financial impact arising from fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs. 13,639,664,684 (Rs. 13.6 billion).2. According to the disclosure made on 29 September 2026, the financial impact arising from the fraudulent transactions is as follows:• Rs. 1.5 billion for the period prior to 1 January 2025;• Rs. 9.6 billion during 2025; and• Rs. 2.5 billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2026.3. Compared with the initial disclosure made by NDB on 6 April 2026, the reported amount of the fraud has increased by Rs. 0.4 billion, from Rs. 13.2 billion to Rs. 13.6 billion. Compared with the amount disclosed by NDB on 26 June 2026, based on the interim report dated 22 June 2026, the additional amount of fraud is Rs. 60 million.4. The final audit report has also confirmed the previous disclosures that no customer accounts were affected as a result of the fraud incident.5. The report has identified several governance failures at NDB relating to the processing of CEFT transactions, user-level activities within the Core Banking System, and the management of user credentials and access information. In addition, shortcomings have been identified in several operational areas, including transaction monitoring, daily account reconciliation, financial compliance, internal audit, branch network management, and operational risk management.6. The audit report has made comprehensive recommendations to strengthen the control mechanisms, governance structures, and processes relating to the above-mentioned activities of the bank.
2026-10-02
Following discussions, the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection approved the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill.The decision was made when the Sectoral Oversight Committee met in Parliament recently (Sep. 30) under the chairmanship, Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Najith Indika.During the meeting, the Committee discussed practical issues that have arisen in implementing the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2003, discrepancies between the Sinhala and English versions of the Act, the electronic system for submitting declarations of assets and liabilities, and public access to such declarations.The Committee also discussed matters including resolving the technical and administrative issues affecting the effective implementation of the Act. Following these discussions, the Committee granted its approval to the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill.
2026-09-30
It was revealed at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Youth Affairs and Sports, which met recently in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage, that arrangements are being made to gazette and present to Parliament a new Bill prepared to completely reform the governance structure of Sri Lanka Cricket.It was stated before the Committee that the proposed new cricket governance structure would include independent directors. Under the proposed new legislation, District Cricket Associations will no longer engage directly in decision-making with Sri Lanka Cricket, but will instead function through Provincial Cricket Associations.The Committee was also informed that Sri Lanka Cricket provides Rs. 900 million annually, together with equipment, for school cricket. It was further revealed that plans have been proposed in consultation with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education to formalize the recruitment of coaches and the player selection process.Meanwhile, the Committee reviewed the progress in implementing the recommendations of the Auditor General relating to sports associations. It was stated that 33 sports associations have completed the relevant recommendations, while reports are due to be obtained in respect of a further 33 associations.The Ministry has instructed that the collection of fees for walking tracks and sports complexes used by the public for health and exercise activities be suspended immediately. The Ministry’s policy that sports facilities should be maintained not as profit-making ventures, but as a government responsibility for the promotion of national health and community welfare, was also emphasized.It was also stated that, under the plan to provide at least one synthetic running track in every province, the next synthetic track is scheduled to be constructed in Anuradhapura. The Committee was informed that there are currently only two synthetic tracks in the country.The Committee also discussed matters relating to the development of sports facilities in the Ampara District, the development of Weber Stadium in Batticaloa and the Hingurakgoda Sports Complex, improvements to sports facilities in the Hali-Ela area of Badulla, and resolving issues at the Bandaragama Public Grounds in Kalutara.Furthermore, the Committee was informed that when allocating government funds for international competitions, funding will be provided only for official national teams representing Sri Lanka and officially recognized international tournaments. It was also revealed that no discrimination based on race or region would be made when selecting national teams or sending teams to participate in overseas competitions.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs Dinidu Saman Hennayake, other Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament, officials of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and members of the Transformation Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, among others.
2026-09-30
The Subcommittee on Shortage of Physical Resources in Schools discussed the progress of the General Education Modernization Programme (GEM) implemented by the Ministry of Education.The Subcommittee, appointed by the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education to investigate the shortage of physical resources in schools, considered these matters at a meeting held recently in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Samanmali Gunasinghe.Officials of the Ministry of Education briefed the Subcommittee on the work carried out in schools under the programme, which is being implemented with the assistance of the World Bank. The Subcommittee emphasized the need to further expedite the activities being carried out under the programme and instructed officials to submit a detailed report on its progress.The Subcommittee further emphasized the need to take necessary measures to address the requirements relating to sanitary facilities and drinking water facilities in schools, particularly to ensure the quality and safety of drinking water.The Subcommittee also conducted an extensive review of the progress of the programme to provide telecommunication facilities to schools, as well as the progress of programmes to establish model primary schools.Hon. Members of Parliament R.M. Samantha Ranasinghe and Padmasiri Bandara, together with officials of the Ministry of Education, also participated in the meeting.
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