Audit queries on President’s Fund stir P’ment

• 2011 Annual Report gets “qualified opinion” by Auditor General
• MP Ravi K describes it as “adverse”; asks Speaker to appoint Select Committee to probe

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Our Lobby Correspondent

The President’s Fund receiving a “qualified opinion” from the Auditor General “for not maintaining proper accounts” came under the spotlight yesterday in Parliament.

UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake said in Parliament that the 2011 Annual Report of President’s Fund being “qualified” was an “adverse” development as it implies a disclaimer, creating serious doubts about credibility.

Karunanayake requested Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa to appoint a Select Committee to investigate the matter as one of utmost importance.

“The President’s accounts have received some qualified opinions. The Auditor General has held that he believes the audit evidence he has obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide basis for his qualified audit opinion,” the UNP said.

In response Speaker Rajapaksa instructed the report to be taken up at the Party Leaders’ meeting to “figure out the next steps”.



Issuing his qualified opinion, the Auditor General has highlighted two aspects on the financial statements relating to the accounting of payments to Mahapola Higher Educational Scholarship Trust Fund and Loans Receivable. In addition, operating inefficiencies are also listed in the report.



In his qualified opinion, the Auditor General has stated: “It was planned to pay Rs. 500 each to 9,500 students at the rate of 100 students per Zonal Educational Office to students appearing for the GCE A/L) Examination in August, 2012 and for this purpose, applications had been called for by the letters referred to the Provincial Chief Secretaries on12 October 2010 and it was instructed to send all applications to the President’s Fund by 31 October 2010.

“Action had been taken to intensify bursary payments nearly within three months, from the date of calling for applications from students and forwarding the list of names of students selected to the fund. But the bursary payments for the first year for students appearing for the GCE (A/L) Examination 2012 had been delayed for about one year. Accordingly, a sum of Rs. 45,468,000 had been paid on 30 November 2011 to 7,578 students of 95 Zonal Educational Offices belonging to nine provinces.

“Even though it was planned to select 100 students from each Zonal Educational Office, a lesser number of students had applied in Zonal Educational Offices under all except two provincial councils. As such, out of the expected 9,500 students, 7,578 students alone had forwarded their applications. Accordingly, the number of students who applied was less by 1922 as a result of lesser number of students forwarding applications than that of the expected number, applications had again been called for and time was granted till 11 July 2011, thus resulting in a delay of bursary payments up to November 2011; the bursary payments of Rs. 45,468,000 for the first year had been made on 30 November 2011.

“However, action had not been taken by the Fund to get statements from students acknowledging their payment. This responsibility has been assigned to the Chief Secretary of Provincial Councils. Accordingly, adequate evidence to confirm the receipts of bursaries by the beneficiaries had not been furnished to audit; the bursary payments for the second year for students of the GCE (A/L) 2011 had been paid in May and June 2011. An amount totalling Rs. 1,590,000 had been returned to the Fund without making payments to the students concerned and this consisted of Rs. 864,000 of the bursary payments of Rs. 49,308,000 paid on 31 December 2010 and Rs. 726,000 of the payments of Rs. 48,444,000 paid for the second year. The money so returned had been retained by the Provincial Councils ranging for a period of one to three months.

“Foreign scholarships amounting to Rs. 2,639,394 had been awarded to five scholars by the President’s Fund in 2011. The payments were made to a student selected for scholarship selected in 2003/04, after a period of six years, that is Rs. 960,606 in December 2010 and Rs.39,394 in January 2011 both aggregating Rs. 1 million too had been included in these payments,” held the report.