Harsha calls on President to act as country left without Auditor General

Thursday, 25 December 2025 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dr. Harsha de Silva

THE main Opposition party, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP and Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) Chair Dr. Harsha de Silva has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing serious concern over the continued vacancy in the Office of the Auditor General, warning that the absence of this constitutionally mandated position is undermining Parliamentary oversight of public finances.

In his letter, Dr. de Silva pointed out that the post has remained vacant since 7 December, following the conclusion of the tenure of the Acting Auditor General on 6 December, leaving the country without either a substantive or acting Auditor General.

As a result, he noted, the Audit Service Commission is also unable to function due to the lack of a Chairman, creating what he described as a critical institutional gap at a time of heightened fiscal vulnerability.

He stressed that under Article 148 of the Constitution, Parliament exercises full control over public finance, a function that is constitutionally dependent on the continuous operation of an independent audit mechanism.

The absence of an Auditor General, he argued, directly disrupts this process, as Article 154 of the Constitution mandates the auditing of all State institutions and the reporting of those audits to Parliament. This requirement is further reinforced by Section 3 of the National Audit Act, No. 19 of 2018.

Dr. de Silva also highlighted that the oversight work of key parliamentary bodies, including the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), is directly reliant on audit reports issued by the Auditor General in terms of Standing Orders 119 and 120.

The continued vacancy, he warned, materially weakens Parliament’s ability to exercise effective financial oversight.

As CoPF Chair, which is responsible for reviewing the Budget and work program of the National Audit Office, Dr. de Silva said he considers it his duty to formally alert the President to the gravity of the situation.

He urged that urgent action be taken to appoint a suitable, qualified, and experienced individual as Auditor General in accordance with Article 153(1) of the Constitution, cautioning that any further delay would deepen the erosion of accountability and public financial control.