Convenor of the Democratic Front, Rehan Jayawickrema, says a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Presidential Secretariat has exposed significant gaps in the disclosure of donations received by the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund for post-Cyclone Ditwah recovery.
According to Jayawickrema, the Secretariat acknowledged receiving a total of USD 11.4 million and Rs. 6 billion in local and foreign donations, but declined to answer questions on the identity of donors, the specific amounts each contributed, how the money has been disbursed, and what monitoring and procurement procedures are in place.
“How could the Presidential Secretariat, tasked with the project, claim it was not aware?” he asked, speaking on the Newsline programme with Faraz Shauketaly. He likened the limited response to the controversy that surrounded the “Helping Hambantota” relief programme during the presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
The disclosure sharpens scrutiny of a fund President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has cited as evidence of donor confidence in his administration. SJB MP Harsha de Silva has separately argued the fund has no legal existence because no Act of Parliament was passed to create it — a position the government has rejected, insisting the money is safe and subject to parliamentary control.
The fund has attracted high-profile institutional contributions, including Rs. 300 million from People’s Bank and Rs. 9.6 million from Sri Lanka Police.
Source: Island.
