More details of massive CHOGM expenditure emerging
View(s):After almost two years, details of heavy spending of public money for the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government’s Meeting (CHOGM) by Rajapaksa regime have come to light raising the issue once again. According to interim estimates, a colossal sum of Rs.15.5 billion was spent for CHOGM with several bills of ministries, contractors, hotels and suppliers yet to be settled by the respective state institutions, official sources revealed.
People’s Bank workers protest: An elderly man walks past employees of the People’s Bank protesting outside the bank’s headquarters in Colombo on Friday over alleged plans to outsource its ATM operations. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Although an earlier estimated expenditure of Rs. 6 billion for the summit — including the import of vehicles — had been pruned down to Rs. 3.5 billion due to financial constraints by the previous regime, the total cost has shot up to Rs.15.5 billion, latest expenditure data showed.
A comprehensive government audit is to be carried out into CHOGM expenditure under the new government a following public outcry over alleged massive corruption and fraud and shoddy infrastructure development work in the run up to summit, the Business Times reliably learnt.
This matter will be brought to the notice of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament soon, a senior official who wished to remain anonymous revealed. Expenditure estimates for the CHOGM were not included in the 2013, 2014 or 2015 budgets but some supplementary estimates were presented in parliament during the previous regime and the actual expenditure has not been announced officially as yet.
According to a latest revelation, the Mass Media and Information Ministry had spent Rs. 1.77 billion on publicity and media coverage in relation to ‘CHOGM-2013′. According to this data, Rs. 828 million had been spent on the construction and maintenance of the Media Centre, Rs. 180.5 million on publicity programmes in electronic media, Rs. 144 million on public awareness programmes, Rs. 4.5 million on purchase of office equipment, Rs 10 million on entertainment of local and foreign journalists including dinners and Rs. 8.5 million for various other expenses.
It has been revealed that certain CHOGM expenditure is unaccounted for as some of the files at the Finance Ministry were missing and computer data erased. (Bandula)