Audit committee under President to probe Nuwara Eliya divisional secretariat payments

Steps have been taken to appoint an audit committee, under the supervision of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to investigate alleged financial irregularities at divisional secretariats across the Nuwara Eliya District.

Nuwara Eliya District Development Committee Chairman and MP Manjula Suraweera Arachchi disclosed the move in a statement. The audit will cover all 10 divisional secretariat offices in the district and examine records for the period from 2023 to 2026.

What the audit will cover

Investigators will pay particular attention to the alleged fraud involving Aswesuma beneficiary payments at the Norwood and Talawakelle divisional secretariats.

Beyond the welfare scheme, the committee will check whether a series of government relief payments actually reached the people entitled to them. These include disaster assistance paid to residents affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the Rs. 5,000 allowance issued to low-income families through the Samurdhi programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, state relief for Samurdhi beneficiaries, and allowances for senior citizens.

Suraweera Arachchi has asked beneficiaries to come forward with any information they hold about irregularities before the audit begins.

Follows the Norwood case

The district-wide audit grows out of the Aswesuma fraud uncovered at the Norwood Divisional Secretariat, where two officials were arrested and remanded at the start of August. The sum under investigation there later rose from about Rs. 3 million to Rs. 16.2 million, with five officers implicated in total.

Separately on Saturday, the Welfare Benefits Board said legal action had been taken against 14 government officials accused of diverting Aswesuma payments into personal bank accounts at divisional secretariats around the country. Board Chairman Nimal Kotawelagedara said that nationwide investigation covers alleged irregularities at divisional secretariat level since 2023, and that four officials at Norwood are alleged to have received funds in their personal accounts (NewsFirst).

Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror.