’Api Wenuwen Api’ fund failed to achieve objectives: Audit report

The Api Wenuwen Api Fund has failed to identify targeted war hero beneficiary families whose loved ones either deceased or became disabled in order to secure financial assistance for housing, rather than those who were in active service, given priority, an audit report revealed.
 
During the twelve-year period from 2010 to 2022, out of 3,080 instances where benefits were granted, 71 per cent or 2,195 instances were allocated to the personnel in the service, while only 29 per cent or 885 instances were granted to individuals from the war hero category who had either died or become disabled while in active duty.
 
The audit report from the National Audit Office also observed that housing assistance had been predominantly provided to personnel who had joined service before 2009 and were still in active duty, rather than prioritising deceased and disabled war heroes, who should have been given higher priority.
 
The Api Wenuwen Api Fund was established in 2008 as a public donation-based initiative tasked with providing assistance by granting loans for the construction or purchase of houses for members of the armed forces who fought to uphold the unity and territorial integrity of the country.
 
The Fund implemented full and partial housing assistance programs to support war hero families without permanent residences and to improve the livability of partially constructed houses. The operations of this Fund are governed by a Board of Management chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence.
 
Accordingly, from 2010 to 2023, the Fund has provided Rs. 3,939 million in housing assistance, facilitating the construction of 1,516 complete houses and supporting 2,440 partially built houses. The Fund generates revenue through public donations, investment interest income, transmission tower earnings, instalment payments from the Ranajayapura housing project, and other sources.
 
“No structured mechanism was in place to ensure equal access to benefits for all eligible individuals and there were instances were identified where disabled war heroes, who should have been given the highest priority due to their critical housing needs, they had not received benefits from the Fund, while benefits had been granted to those who deserved minimal priority,” the report stressed.
 
Pointing out that there were other parallel institutional structures that existed engaging in similar activities, the audit reported noted that beneficiaries should ideally be selected based on common criteria by these institutions. However, it was found that “since these institutions independently select beneficiaries, there was no assurance that benefits were entitled fairly and based on a priority framework.”
 
An appropriate data system was not in place to either prevent or detect instances of double benefit allocation, as well, the audit found stressing since a centralised system containing information on all deceased, missing, and disabled members of the Armed Forces and Police, as well as their dependents, was not maintained, the opportunity to systematically and transparently carry out the welfare activities of the war hero community had been missed.
 
The audit also observed instances of non-compliance with Board decisions and beneficiary selections made without a clear basis were revealed during audit test checks. It was observed that a specific and uniform method was not followed in the selection process, nor were benefits entitled based on a priority framework.