News
Former People’s Bank Chairman, Finance Min. Add. Sec. up before House privileges committee
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) this week decided to summon former People’s Bank (PB) Chairman Hemasiri Fernando and Finance Ministry Additional Secretary S. Semasinghe before Parliament’s Privileges Committee, for providing a 6-month service extension to former General Manager (GM) of PB Vasantha Kumar, despite COPE instructing them not do so.
COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti ordered that Mr Hemasiri and Mr Semasinghe be summoned before the Privileges Committee, when PB officials came before COPE on Thursday (5).
COPE observed that during the 6 months of Mr Kumar’s service extension, he had been paid a monthly salary of Rs 2.1 million, along with salary arrears of Rs 37 million, Rs 2.6 million as bonuses and Rs 7.4 million as additional allowances. It was also revealed that the PB had purchased a BMW vehicle worth Rs 16.6 million for him. The PB’s Board of Directors had later approved the transfer of the same vehicle to Mr Kumar for only Rs 113,000. The former GM had also taken away another vehicle allocated to him, citing sentimental value. As such, Mr Kumar had retired with two vehicles.
Mr Handunnetti instructed the PB Chairman and Board of Directors to immediately reacquire these vehicles. COPE also instructed that the losses incurred by PB, due to the service extension granted to Mr Kumar, be recovered from those responsible for giving
him the extension, in violation of
COPE instructions.