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COPE intensifies investigations

22 Sep 2019

By Skandha Gunasekara The parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) this week probed the controversial Batticaloa Campus in addition to declaring that it would also begin an inquest into the construction of the recently opened Lotus Tower. Accordingly, directors of the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt.) Ltd. along with directors of the Sri Lanka Hira Foundation as well as former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah and his son Hirz Hizbullah were to appear before the Committee on Tuesday (17) at 2.30 p.m. In addition, officials of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), where 14 accounts related to the campus had been opened, and the Ministry of Higher Education, which had granted approval to set up the campus, were to appear before the committee on the same day as well. However, COPE hit a roadblock when the representatives of the Batticaloa Campus and the Sri Lanka Hira Foundation as well as former Eastern Province Governor Hizbullah and his son refrained from appearing before the committee, citing a prescheduled foreign visit they had to take part in as a delegation. Only the officials of the BOC and the Ministry of Higher Education were present before COPE on Tuesday. The Chief Accountant of the Ministry of Higher Education told COPE that the Ministry had notified officials of the Batticaloa Campus and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation on 12 September that they were to appear before COPE on 17 September. At this point, COPE questioned as to why other officials, such as the chief accountants and legal officers of the two summoned institutions, had failed to attend. “Have all the officials of these two institutions gone overseas with Hizbullah?” COPE Chairman and JVP Parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti queried. Due to the lack of a response, Handunnetti ordered the Ministry of Higher Education to notify all the officials of the two institutions to appear before the committee on 9 October at 2.30 p.m. with handwritten submissions as to why they failed to attend Tuesday’s hearing. The COPE Chairman also instructed Hizbullah and his son to submit a detailed report on the prescheduled foreign tour. Chairman Handunnetti and committee member Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe were present from COPE during the hearing. Going ahead with the hearing, Chairman Handunnetti questioned the Ministry representatives as to how the Ministry had approved a proposal from then Deputy Minister of Industries Hizbullah at a time when Parliament was dissolved. “Hizbullah had forwarded a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) as the Deputy Minister of Industries regarding the setting up of the Batticaloa Campus. During this time, Parliament had been dissolved. So how could the UGC entertain such a proposal, let alone approve it?” Handunnetti inquired. Nevertheless, the officials of the Ministry of Higher Education had no response and were left speechless. Handunnetti, then addressing BOC officials, queried as to how 14 separate accounts had been opened at the bank in relation to the Batticaloa Campus. “The names these bank accounts have been opened under are not mentioned in the agreement signed between the Sri Lanka Hira Foundation and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development. These accounts were opened to fund the Batticaloa Campus. How is it so?” MP Handunnetti questioned. In response, a BOC official said that the then Deputy Minister had sent a letter stating that a person by the name of Malik Abdullah would be opening the accounts at the BOC for the Batticaloa Campus. Senasinghe: The process followed to open these accounts in accordance with the agreement does not seem legal. It is so hard and takes so long for an ordinary citizen to open an account. Handunnetti: Is the foreign funding received for this campus a grant or a loan? BOC Manager: The funds were not recognised as a loan. If it was identified as a loan, we would have requested them to show us their means of repaying the loan. The money had been sent as a foreign grant. Handunnetti: Several institutions have been set up, and then their names change in quick succession to open bank accounts under them. This has been done by two individuals. Auditor General W.P.C. Wickremeratne: Two people from the same family have opened a university claiming it’s for the welfare of the people. Handunnetti: If a university is being set up through funding from donations, then how this university is functioning must be looked into. Wickremeratne: Now, this Batticaloa Campus is owned by the father and son. This is a family business with the sponsorship of the Government. Lotus Tower project During Thursday’s (18) COPE hearing, the Committee decided to launch a full-scale investigation into the Lotus Tower project. Chairman Handunnetti stated that all institutions, including the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), would be summoned before the Committee for a probe on the questionable deals and construction-related issues of the Lotus Tower project. “In June 2014, COPE conducted an investigation into the Lotus Tower. The Auditor General prepared a special report on the Lotus Tower, which was presented to Parliament on 1 April. This report analysed various aspects and features of the tower and all its stages from construction to operation. COPE will carry out the probe in a speedy manner and complete it within a short time,” he said. The Chairman made this announcement following President Maithripala Sirisena’s allegations during the opening ceremony of the Lotus Tower, where he stated that a Chinese company that entered into a tripartite agreement with EXIM Bank of China and the TRCSL in 2012 had taken Rs. 2 billion as an advanced payment, but the monies had disappeared without a trace. The Chairman went on to say that COPE members Ministers Rauff Hakeem and Senasinghe too agreed that an early date should be fixed to promptly convene COPE and begin an inquiry into the Lotus Tower project.

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