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Audit officer who probed baby jumbo racket transferred
The auditors’ union, in the Auditor General’s Department, last Friday held discussions with Auditor General (AG) H.A.S. Samaraweera regarding the transfer of an audit officer, rumoured to be politically motivated.
Last July, Deputy Auditor General A.H.M.Lalith Ambanwala held an audit query calling for information on illegally wild-caught baby elephants. His query investigated four elephant registration licences, numbered 331, 334, 358 and 359, issued by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
He found that all four licences were issued on blatantly false information, including forged signatures of officials and on questionable testimonies of veterinarians and grama niladharis.
One licence he investigated, number 334, was revoked by the DWC and then reissued by DWC Director General H.D. Rathnayaka with permission from the then Minister for Wildlife S. M. Chandrasena, who is currently Economic Development deputy minister.
Last Monday, Mr. Ambanwala was transferred to a different unit at the Auditor General’s Department. He remains a deputy auditor general, but was transferred from the environment and wildlife unit to the labour and sports unit.
When the news of his transfer broke, there was widespread speculation among activists that the transfer was due to politically-motivated reasons, which Auditor General Samaraweera has vehemently denied.
Mr. Samaraweera was not available for an interview last week, despite multiple attempts to reach him. Instead, he faxed a statement claiming the transfer was due to the Auditor General’s Department “rescheduling the assignments made to the Divisional Heads (Deputy Auditors General and Assistant Auditors General) subsequent to the appointment of three senior most Deputy Auditors General as Additional Auditors General. Accordingly the assignment of two Deputy Auditors General and five Assistant Auditors General was revised to accommodate the assignment of those officers.”
Auditors’ Union president M.S. Nayana Kumara said there was an ‘actual administrative need’ for three additional auditors.
“We held discussions with the Auditor General as well as Mr. Ambanwela,” he said. “We also checked who has taken Mr. Ambanwela’s place in continuing the investigation. We found that person is an honest, competent and qualified officer, like Mr. Ambanwela, we can trust to carry out this investigation.”
“We discussed that if this investigation is discontinued, and if the findings are not presented to Parliament, then we would take strict action as a union,” he added. “Right now we trust that this investigation will continue forward.”
Under Article 154 (6) of the Constitution, the Auditor General has to report to Parliament within 10 months of the financial year, in addition to reporting any time in between if the Auditor General wishes, former Auditor General S. C. Mayadunne said.
“It is not like other Government department, this is a peculiar department; the Constitution speaks only about the Auditor General and not the Department,” he said.
The whole thing is his responsibility, so he can’t wash his hands off and palm it on any other officer. He should answer to Parliament, he said.
“It’s also at the Auditor General’s discretion to report to Parliament any matters of misconduct uncovered during audit investigations,” he added.
Mr. Ambanwala’s report was widely praised by wildlife activists, who had been advocating against illegal baby elephant registrations for the past five or so years. Mr. Kumara said the union also praised the report as ‘very well done,’ and ‘unbiased.’
In 2002, Mr. Ambanwala was subjected to an acid attack after an investigation he carried out as audit superintendent exposed shocking corruption in the Central Province Department of Education, including defrauding of Rs. 17.5 million in purchasing of computers.
Mr. Ambanwala suffered serious injuries due to the attack to his face, chest, arms and kidneys, when he accidentally swallowed some of the acid. He was under treatment for several years until he returned to work as an auditor in 2009.
In October 2012, the Kandy High Court sentenced seven men for the attack, including Central Province Education Department’s former Chief Accountant Ananda Weerasinghe and former Education Director Ananda Munasinghe.
Mr. Ambanwala refused to comment because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
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