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Auditor General begins audit of Itukama Fund

12 May 2021

  • Fund management under Health Min./Army HQ: Presidential Secretariat

  • Daily fund management not handled by Itukama Committee: CBSL Governor

  • No timely need to probe fund: COPE Chair Prof. Charitha Herath 

  • No request for probe made from COPA: COPA Chair Prof. Tissa Vitharana

By Pamodi Waravita   The Auditor General’s (AG’s) Department has begun its audit on the “Itukama Covid-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund” following a financial statement it has received from the Presidential Secretariat. “We recently received a financial statement from the Presidential Secretariat and we have started our audit on said fund,” AG W.P.C. Wickramaratne told The Morning yesterday (11). He further said that the audit could be completed soon and that the breakdown of expenditures would also be looked into. The President’s Media Division (PMD) released a statement on Monday (10) highlighting the income and expenditures of the Itukama Fund since its inception in March 2020, and stated that the remaining amount of the fund would be used for the Covid-19 vaccination drive. The statement noted that Rs. 1,752,402,793.24 has been credited to the fund and that Rs. 391,479,824 has been spent so far on PCR test-related expenses, awareness campaigns, quarantine centres and related procedures, and administration. However, when The Morning contacted Presidential Secretariat Chief Financial Officer and Itukama Committee Secretary Ravindra J. Wimalaweera regarding the specifics of each category of expense, Wimalaweera said that it is the Ministry of Health and the Army Headquarters that are in charge of spending the funds.  “The Health Ministry and the Army Headquarters send us proposals and we issue the funds they need. Thus, the management of the fund falls under their purview,” said Wimalaweera. Wimalaweera further confirmed to The Morning that a financial statement on the fund had been sent to the AG’s Department in late February. When contacted regarding the matter, Itukama Committee Chairman and Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Emeritus Prof. W.D. Lakshman also said that the daily management activities of the fund are not handled by the Itukama Committee. Furthermore, he could not confirm to The Morning as to whether the fund’s financial statement had been sent to the AG’s Department for an audit. Treasury Secretary and Itukama Committee Member S.R. Attygalle was also unable to clarify to The Morning as to whether an audit is being conducted on the fund. Meanwhile, Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Chairman Prof. Charitha Herath speculated that a review of the Itukama Fund could most likely be carried out by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA). “It does not fall under the purview of the COPE. I also don’t think that there is a timely need to look into the fund, as this is a time to support the health authorities,” added Prof. Herath. COPA Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitharana, when contacted by The Morning, said that the COPA had not been requested to conduct a probe into the fund, noting also that the COPA was not functioning at present. However, COPA Member Dr. Harini Amarasuriya told The Morning that it is necessary for the Parliament to have oversight on the fund. She further said that the COPA’s duties have been temporarily halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The PMD statement on the Itukama Fund also notes that while local institutions, members of the public, and expatriates made contributions towards the fund, international financial institutions or organisations have not made donations to it, as foreign aid and donations are made to the Treasury.

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