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Considering what’s happening at some of the top offices, one might wonder whether those offices are given exemption when it comes to curbing state expenditure as recent government directives repeatedly instructed state departments to adopt extraordinary austerity measures to ensure smooth running of state machinery.

Those extraordinary measures vary from cutting down allowances to state employees until further notice to selling liquidated state resources including scrap metals in government offices to save some money.

This came in the wake of the Treasury making it clear it will not fund any fresh projects other than what was approved and encouraged State owned Enterprises to explore avenues to manage expenses on their own by adopting sustainable mechanisms.

One such privileged state institution is the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) where one of its top officials sought approval from the Monetary Board to use state funds amounting to Rs 6.2 million to cover the expenses of an official trip to the US next month.

From January 2020 till June this year, several members of the Monetary Board drew payments for taking part in Monetary Board meetings and another special allowance for being part of the sub-committee. One member who served in both capacities drew Rs 3.22 million during the period, while another member politely declined any fees for the services he rendered.

76 MPs including ministers in hot water

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has written to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that 76 Parliamentarians including ministers who stayed in official residences had failed to pay their water bills amounting to nearly Rs. 12 million.

The 76 Parliamentarians include those who had already left official residences and those who are still residing in them. They owe a combined total of more than Rs. 11.8 million in unpaid water bills.

The list includes 34 current MPs, who owe more than Rs 4.4 million and 27 MPs who do not hold any portfolios who owe more than Rs. 4.1 million. Meanwhile, 15 MPs who have already passed away have also left Rs. 3.2 million in unpaid water bills, the Board informed the Speaker through a letter.

The NWSDB has also forwarded to the Speaker a detailed report of the 34 current MPs who have failed to pay their water bills. It noted that some of these MPs have vacated their official residences without paying their bills and new occupants have since occupied the residences. However, the failure by the MPs to settle their unpaid bills was also causing inconvenience to the new occupants, the Board noted, urging the Speaker to take measures to compel the MPs to settle these bills.

All party wheeler dealer back on scene with new project

Wheeler dealers are considered remarkable creatures for the precise reason of being able to survive while keeping links across the board of all political parties to influence policy decisions beneficial to them.

One such well-known dealer who was accused of various financial malpractices and corruption in the past, is back on the scene now with a different project. This particular individual, accused and suspected of being the prime ‘laundry man’ of whitewashing black money, belonging to one such influential family, now came up with another attractive proposal, at least to some senior officials at the Board of Investment (BoI) for obvious reasons.

He had already set up a cement factory in the South but had yet to pay the ground rent amounts of Rs 157 million to the BoI. Now, he is pushing for another agreement while the outstanding payment in the audit books and officials too seemed to be going with the proposal for reasons only known to them.

SLC President puts leg before cricket over 2022 Asia Cup issue

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) held a media conference on Thursday on the country’s victory at the Asia Cup 2022. SLC President Shammi Silva however, became visibly irritated when a journalist questioned him about claims made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Nalin Bandara over Sri Lanka failing to host the 2022 Asia Cup in the country.

Mr Bandara had alleged in Parliament there were underhand deals made to prevent Sri Lanka from hosting the 2022 Asia Cup. He had claimed that the country lost about US$ 50 million that would have come had the tournament been held here.

Sri Lanka Cricket team after winning the 2022 Asia Cup

“Who is Nalin Bandara? When did he say this?” Mr Silva questioned the media. “In reality, we received US$ 4.5 million more than what we would have received had the tournament been held here. I do not know who said this, since I do not know that many MPs. But he clearly seems to be someone who is not good in maths,” he said.

One wonders though, how the SLC President was unaware of such a serious allegation levelled in Parliament by an MP, and one that got wide airplay in the media. Surely, is it not his duty as the highest SLC official to find out more about such allegations and respond accordingly?

It is afterall, the good name of his own institution that is being tarnished. There may have been valid reasons for SLC not to be able to host the tournament locally, as there was political instability and fuel shortages to energise the stadium lights, but talking of maths, what about the loss for the hotels and ancillary services that could have made much money during these troubled times by Sri Lanka hosting the tournament. That seems to have been lost on the SLC president.

Not too smart move by Jaffna MC results in loss of Rs. 14.3M

Following the Sunday Times exclusive report on August 28 of Japan seeking a refund from the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) for the import of four reconditioned waste-collection trucks after the project was delayed for more than three years, the matter was raised at higher levels.

The Northern Governor’s Office has also called for an inquiry on why the Japan funds were not used properly by the municipality administration and the reasons that led to the termination of the project.

Earlier, the embassy had written to the council to refund Rs 14.3 million (US$ 83,432) which was given for the import of the four trucks.

Now it has come to light that the funds were saved as a fixed deposit in a state bank and the interest is calculated to be more than Rs 2.5 million. The Council is yet to meet to discuss the termination of the project and how to use the interest amount effectively before it is too late. The council has Rs. 2.5 million and not Rs. 14.3 million by its all-too-smart move!