EPF finally before PAC next Wednesday: Harsha

Dr. Harsha De Silva announced yesterday that after two years of battling hard for answers alongside UNP MPs Eran Wickremaratne and Ravi Karunanayake, the Employees’ Provident Fund would finally appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Parliament next Wednesday (6).

Dr. De Silva told reporters that as a member of the PAC he was deeply regretful of the fact that the Committee was yet to present a report to Parliament.

“I wrote a letter asking the EPF officials to appear before the PAC in January 2012. Finally they will be appearing next Wednesday,” Dr. De Silva said, adding that he believed the EPF corruption was much larger than other State sector fraud in recent years. According to Dr. De Silva, six years’ worth of EPF accounts have to be scrutinised by the PAC.

De Silva has repeatedly highlighted allegedly fraudulent transactions involving the Employees’ Provident Fund managed by the Central Bank in the Colombo Stock Exchange. He said that the EPF has not appeared before PAC since 2006 to answer audit and other queries.

“This is truly a people’s victory,” he said.