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Jayasundera
disagrees with AG's tsunami report
Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera, responding to the Auditor General S.C. Mayadunne's findings claimed that the Ministry was not consulted on the findings highlighted in the AG's report. Dr. Jayasundera said that although the Auditor General had the right to reject any comments, it was a practice among auditors to include such comments in their reports, thus respecting the views of the audited party. He also disputed certain statistic of 13.5%, in relation to the percentage of foreign aid utilised as of July 31, this year. Dr. Jayasundera said the amount of US$ 1,168.80 million identified under six sectors, was not an accurate account of the funds. He said of the US$ 3.4 billion that was pledged, US$ 2.7 billion had been converted into firm commitments, whilst negotiations were underway in respect of the balance. As of now the funds utilised stand at US$ 927 million, 35% of the total committed. In relation to the Auditor General's remarks on the inaction of the institutions responsible for forecasting and warning the public on natural disasters, the Treasury Secretary said all these agencies were regularly audited by the Auditor General's Department, and it was surprising why these shortcomings were not pointed out prior to the tsunami. Mr. Jayasundera’s letter blamed NGOs for some of the delays regarding housing construction for not having matched their pledges. Dr. Jayasundera said contrary to Mr. Mayadunne's report, it has been recorded that as of August 23, some 3200 houses had been built and not 1055. He goes on to state that, in a way, traditional compliance audits have grossly demoralized and discouraged public servants working in a sensible manner. He has requested that the Auditor General gives serious consideration to the adoption of a performance based management audit mechanism. The Treasury Secretary concludes his response by advising the Auditor General's Department to have direct discussions with the relevant officials and authorities and peruse the information provided by them, before preparing the final report, to ensure a balanced view of the subject under consideration. |
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