TSUNAMI THIEVES ARE NEVER FORGOTTEN! YOU DECIDE... The disappearing tsunami millions from the PMs fund By Sonali Samarasinghe Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and a handful of select officials have siphoned off a colossal Rs. 82 million of monies given to the Prime Ministers Fund as tsunami relief and reconstruction, into a private account called Helping Hambantota maintained at the Standard Chartered Bank in direct violation of Presidential directives. The actions of the Prime Ministerial team may also raise serious issues, which may border on offences under the Public Property Act, given that the four signatories to the account are private persons not connected to the Prime Ministers office. Signatories to the account The signatories to this account are Prof. Epasinghe, a long time friend of the Prime Minister, who does not work in the PMs office but is paid a salary of Rs. 40,000 plus fuel expenses. Mahinda Gunawardena, another loyalist, Deputy Minister, Plantation Industries and brother of the Prime Minister, Chamal Rajapakse and Udaya Abeyratne of the Road Development Authority who is the chief accountant of the Prime Ministers Maga Neguma Project. Amounts claimed to have been received for Helping Hambantota The cheque for Rs. 82 million transferred from the PMs fund to the private Helping Hambantota The account named Helping Hambantota maintained at the Rajagiriya branch of the Standard Chartered Bank bears A/C No. 01-1237322-01 and as at June 29, had an account balance of Rs. 103,094, 966 (over Rs. 103 million). The account is still receiving funds and recently a direct cash deposit of Rs. 54,200 was made. If there was one time in the history of Sri Lanka that prompted worldwide sympathy and good will towards the nation it was the days after the tsunami. Apart from government to government pledges, private companies, the Sri Lankan diaspora, NGOs and foreign missions literally sent sacks of money to the country to meet the urgent needs of the tsunami affected. Many of these donations made its way to Mahinda Rajapakse as prime minister of Sri Lanka. Certainly money was flowing in, and steadily. At the time no special accounts were in existence and the Prime Minister was in control in the absence of the President who was still in London. For a Prime Ministerial team to then arbitrarily decide with no official record of the fact except a verbal assurance by the PMs Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga that a large chunk of these moneys was given especially for the reconstruction of Hambantota raises serious issues of public accountability and transparency. In any event all donations received by the Prime Minister or by the Prime Ministers office were donations given to the country as a whole and not to Mahinda Rajapakse to nurse his own constituency for personal political gain to give a generous interpretation to what has taken place. The fact that the monies have not yet been used but kept in an account for future use - and this is admitted to by PMs Secretary Weeratunga (see box) - makes the action even more heinous, considering the untold suffering that victims in temporary shelters are still going through. The Sunday Leader learns that since the commencement of the Helping Hambantota account, 14 outgoing transactions, each of which was less than a million, have been made totaling a sum of Rs. 9 million. This means the account had over Rs. 112 million. That is Rs. 30 million more than what was initially deposited from the Prime Ministers Punarjeewana fund. However Prime Ministers Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga says no money has been deposited to this account after the initial Rs. 82 million and no account movements have occurred. Remember, President Kumaratunga was in England when the tsunami struck and it was the Prime Minister who took over disaster management efforts. Indeed, during those heady post-tsunami days and after her hasty return to the country, President Kumaratunga was to scoff at Rajapakses inefficiency publicly and berate his one-man-show attempt privately. Be that as it may, from December 26 onwards, monies received by the Prime Minister personally or by the Prime Ministers office were deposited in the government account called Secretary to the Prime Minister as there was no other account available in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. It is pertinent to note however that following the calamity there was no record to show the amount of money donated and the amount deposited. Simply put, due to various reasons - most of which were logistical - there was zero accountability. Sources at the Prime Ministers office confirm that monies handed over in the presence of other officials at the office were however documented. Presidents directive On her return from London, President Kumaratunga was quick to notify all ministries concerned that monies received for tsunami relief should be deposited into one account. Therefore, on December 29, 2004 by Presidential Secretariat Circular No. PA/272, Presidents Secretary, W.J.S. Karunaratne sent out a directive to all secretaries of ministries and heads of institutions not scheduled under ministries. It said inter alia: On the direction of the President, a special bank account has been opened at the head quarters branch of Peoples Bank to accept cash donations for relief operations that are now in progress. Name of Account: Presidents Fund for Disaster Relief Bank : Peoples Bank - Head quarters branch Account No. 204 100 190 136245 Type of account: Current account Swift Code: PSBKLKLX Sort cord: 204-7135 Online transfer: Facility not available You are kindly requested to bring this information to the notice of all your staff of your ministry / institution, and any other institutions coming under your ministry and the general public who wish to make donation in cash for this very worthy cause. Note this: In the circumstances, you are kindly advised not to open any separate individual bank accounts to collect funds for relief operations. We do not doubt that the PMs Secretary, Weeratunga would have received this circular. Notwithstanding, on December 31, 2004, two days after President Kumaratungas directive, Weeratunga opened an official account in the name of Prime Ministers Punarjeewana Fund account No. 014100170136270 at the Peoples Bank. The signatories to this account were Weeratunga, Additional Secretary Gamini Senarath, Senior Assistant Secretary Sunil Hewapathirana and Accountant S. Subasinghe. Thereafter, on the same day a sum of Rs. 73,926,516.74 of tsunami relief monies received into the Secretary to the Prime Minister government account from December 27, 2004 to December 31, 2004 were deposited into the newly opened Prime Ministers Punarjeewana account. Other donations were also now being deposited to this account and as at June 09, its account balance was Rs. 2,628,821.90. Violation While strictly speaking the opening of this account was a violation of the Presidents specific advice not to open any separate individual accounts, it is still an official government account with the signatories being officials of the Prime Ministers office. However, the Prime Minister and a select few of his officials including Weeratunga lost no time in also opening a separate private account called Helping Hambantota at the Standard Chartered Bank, Rajagiriya without even any proper documentation. A website was also launched calling the project the Hambantota Tsunami Relief and Disaster Programme. (See box) The project partners named are the government of Sri Lanka, the Prime Ministers office of Sri Lanka, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN agencies, international and national NGOs, the corporate sector, professional bodies, religious institutions and communities of those effected. Whatever the site claims as the projects partners, the board of directors of the project are in fact PMs Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga , HNB Chairman, Rienzie Wijetilleke, Shasheendra Rajapakse (son of Chamal Rajapkse and nephew of the Prime Minister), Director, Road Development Authority (RDA), M. Mowjood and Accountant, RDA, Udaya Abeyratne. Its governing council consists of again Shasheendra Rajapakse, Lalith Weeratunga and Rienzie Wijetilleke. The Prime Minister and Weeratunga also told the PMs office staff that of the donations received by the Prime Ministers Punarjeewana fund, a certain sum was received specially for the development of Hambantota only as requested by the donors. These particular donations had been marked in the funds register by Weeratunga. On December 27, both Prime Minister Rajapakse and Weeratunga verbally directed that Rs. 106,983,247.70 (over Rs. 106 million) be transferred to this private account. Later the amount to be transferred was changed to Rs. 82,958,247.70 (over Rs. 82 million). Accordingly on January 31, a Peoples Bank cheque No. 179127 in the name of The Manager, Standard Chartered Bank, Rajagiriya, A/C No.01-1237322-01, Hambantota Tsunami Disaster Relief and Development Programme for the sum of Rs. 82,958,247.70 signed by Accountant S. Subasinghe and Weeratunga was issued to facilitate the transfer. However, this cheque was returned as the payees name was wrong and another Peoples Bank cheque No. 179128 dated February 3 was issued for the same amount to be paid to Helping Hambantota A/C No. 01-1237322-01. On December 31, 2004, Prime Minister Rajapakse directed his office to send the remaining moneys in the Prime Ministers Punarjeewana fund to the National Fund for Disaster Relief, Central Bank A/C No. 4669. The relatively small sum of Rs. 28,363,135.04 donations received from December 27 2004 to January 5 was accordingly transferred by Peoples Bank cheque No. 179126. That was to indicate to the President her directive was being complied with as regards the monies received by the PMs fund. Small driblets Thereafter, as all good little boy scouts would do, the Prime Ministers office kept sending, in comparatively small driblets, a percentage of the funds received by the prime ministers office to the Central Bank National Relief Fund in keeping with the Presidential directive. For instance on February 8, a sum of Rs. 11,42,780 was sent by Peoples Bank cheque No. 179129 and again Rs. 441,618 by cheque No. 947362. On March 16, a sum of Rs. 15,124,891.13 was sent to the Central Bank by Peoples Bank cheque No. 179132. These monies were donations received between December 28, 2004 and February 15. Meanwhile, for good measure, the Prime Ministers office ran a full page advertisement in the state media on February 2, publishing a list of 55 donors and randomly dividing them into two sections. Twenty-two donors for Hambantota and 33 for Sri Lanka as a whole. By a happy coincidence for the Prime Minister and his select team, those 22 donations were hefty ones amounting to over Rs. 82 million. Donations received to the National Fund though larger in number amounted to only a little over Rs. 28 million. Neither did the advertisement mention the private account Helping Hambantota maintained at the Standard Chartered Bank but merely mentioned instead a generalised Hambantota Tsunami Disaster Relief and Development Programme. Consider the following: The donations arbitrarily and personally selected by Weeratunga as Hambantota only donations were in fact received by Mahinda Rajapakse as Prime Minister for Sri Lanka and not as MP for Hambantota. The tsunami was a national disaster not an isolated calamity in the south. In any event the 22 donations identified by Weeratunga as aforesaid were made from December 27, 2004 to January 11. On December 27, 2004, one day after the disaster, no government fund had yet been set up. Neither had this private account called Helping Hambantota. If the Prime Ministers office says that some monies were given to be used in Hambantota only then as a government body this must be properly documented. There should be written indication of this by the donor. A arbitrary pencil mark by the PMs Secretary is insufficient. These are monies belonging to the Sri Lankan public and not private funds. No proper documentation When the monies were transferred to the account, Helping Hambantota was not a properly registered and/or constituted trust, partnership, company or NGO (see box). When the private account was set up at the Standard Chartered Bank it was done so without proper documentation and only on the verbal assurances of the Prime Ministers office. The bank had not insisted on the proper documentation usually required to open a bank account of this nature. However, the identity cards of the aforesaid four signatories were perused and the account opened merely on the instructions of the PMs office. This account, which contains public money, is now in the hands of private individuals and has been moved away from the control of public officials. It is not subject to financial regulations and other governmental directives and circulars that govern public money. Furthermore, if this money is to be used for reconstruction, then proper tender procedures must be followed. Is this not a misappropriation of public property and a criminal breach of trust? But happily for the Prime Ministers office, these government funds are now in a private account. The very fact the Willie Gamage (see box) finds is necessary to hide the fact that Chamal Rajapakse is a signatory to the Helping Hambantota account and insists there are only three signatories shows that a game may be afoot. Even though Gamage states there is only a balance of Rs. 67 million, The Sunday Leader reliably learns that as at June 28, the balance was over Rs. 103 million. By giving this exercise a veneer of legitimacy with a large newspaper advertisement, select officials of the Prime Ministers office have opened this private account to direct transfers of moneys. Certainly the account has swelled considerably since February this year. As at June 28, its balance was already over Rs. 103 million. The Rs. 82 million question The Rs. 82 million question is also this - If the money was indeed for tsunami relief and reconstruction of Hambantota, why pray, is it, that six months after the tsunami, when victims are still languishing in tents and makeshift structures, has the money not been used? Is it being saved for some other purpose over which the government has no control since it is managed by private individuals? It is reliably learnt that the money has now been deposited into a call deposit to generate interest. While this money purportedly to help tsunami victims is generating interest, thousands of victims are still living in harsh conditions. Surely politicians who receive donations on behalf of the state as a whole after a national disaster cannot set up private accounts for various districts such as Helping Galle or Helping Batticaloa depending on their area of interest for personal or political gain? And who knows at the end of the day where this money will end up? If, for example, Rajapakse is no longer Prime Minister tomorrow, the state will have no control over this money and the private individuals controlling it can for all intents and purposes use it to buy houses in the Bahamas. Case of the missing money That money was lying around the Rajapakse residence was evident. Come February this year the Rajapakse family was in a dither. Rs. 400,000 had gone missing from the premises and the alleged prime suspect was a Tamil servant woman called Chandra who had recently left the home not only in a huff due to a matter of the heart involving another Prime Ministerial minor employee but also with a pocket stuffed with Rs. 400,000 allegedly stolen from the Prime Ministerial residence. Having found out about the alleged theft, Rajapakses wife Shiranthi lost no time in writing a letter marked Urgent dated February 3, to the manager, Hatton National Bank in Colombo 8, requesting him to freeze the account of the servant woman as a police investigation had already commenced. (See box) On the strength of this letter when the servant woman went to the bank to withdraw a small amount, the bank informed the police and she was arrested. However, the Prime Minister intervened and she was released before the incident about the money could leak out to the press. The only salient question here in the public interest is this. Why would Rs. 400,000 be lying around in the Prime Ministers home in the first place? And why was the police investigation subsequently dropped? * * * PMs Secretary responds... Secretary to the Prime Minister, Lalith Weeratunga admitted that no monies from the Helping Hambantota fund had been used as yet. When asked why that was the case even six months after the tsunami, he said many donors had come to construct houses and give relief and thus it was not necessary. He also said this money may be used at a later date for community centres and infrastructure development. He revealed the Helping Hambantota account had approximately Rs. 80 million in it and also stated no more monies had been sent to it. Weeratunga also said in deference to donors wishes they had to separate the moneys as donors approached them wanting to help Hambantota specifically and / or to help Ampara or another area specifically. When asked whether separate accounts were also opened for Ampara and other areas he stated the PMs office did not receive such donations as donors were aware of the Prime Ministers connection to Hambantota. * * * Helping Hambantota, PMs office style The Hambantota Tsunami Disaster Relief and Development Programme has launched an impressive website - helphambantota.org. The objective of the project is stated as follows: To bring together and combine the strengths of the government, the corporate sector, religious institutions, the UN community, international and national NGOs, professional bodies and the communities of those affected in bringing relief to the people of the district and in bringing about sustained development in the area. To facilitate, support and synergise the rehabilitation plans for the district, and to coordinate with relevant state agencies in order to expedite relief and development work. What may well distress bona fide donors is also this. The site names as its many grandiose rebuilding projects, the following: Andaragasyaya Housing Project, ASPIC Village Housing Project, Cine Oska Village Housing Project, Haritha Housing Project, Helping House Housing Project, Kelani Temple Houses Housing Project, Kirindagama Housing Project, Obesekaralabima Walloya Housing Project, Porondugama Red Cross Housing Project, Samadigama Housing Project, Siribopura Housing project, Temp. Houses Kirindagama Housing Project and Tissapura Housing Project. Each is accompanied by pictures of houses under construction. However, Weeratunga told The Sunday Leader that none of the Helping Hambantota funds had been used and that donors and aid agencies were building houses and therefore the Helping Hambantota project was keeping the money for possible infrastructure development at a later date. This brings the credibility of this website into serious doubt. If the website is already claiming to have completed so many projects and even shows pictures of these ongoing projects, the Prime Ministers office may be guilty of duping donors into sending money into an account that does not do anything. However, the website very passionately calls for donors to Help Hambantota NOW. The site invites donors to feel free to write immediately and gives the following details. Programme name: Hambantota Tsunami Disaster Relief and Development Programme; Address: Prime Ministers office, Temple Trees, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka; Telephone: +94 11 2 32 14 06; Fax: +94 11 2 2 54 29 18; E-mail: [email protected], and gives the account details for money transfer as Helping Hambantota A/C No.01-1237322-01; Bank: Standard Charted Bank, Sri Lanka; Branch: Rajagiriya; Swift Code: SCBLLKLX. It also states that online donation facilities via Visa or Master would be available soon. * * * Gamage gives PM a helping hand Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister and Desk Officer for Helping Hambantota. Willie Gamage told The Sunday Leader that Helping Hambantota was a temporary programme to handle tsunami relief and was a fund management programme. On asked whether it has been registered Gamage replied in the negative. Excerpts of the interview follow: Q: Is it part of the PMs office? A: Not really but it is supported by the PMs office. It is a temporary programme to manage funds earmarked for Hambantota. (He also stated that except for Lalith Weeratunga and Shasheendra Rajapakse all other members of the governing council of this programme were private members.) Q: Who are the signatories? A: Udaya Abeyratne is an accountant, Prof. Epasinghe is from the academic field and M. Gunawardena is a private person. Q: Only three signatories? A: Yes. (Of the Rs. 82 million deposited in the account Gamage said that approximately Rs. 15 million has been spent on kitchen utensils, construction of 15 permanent houses and incidental expenses such as project surveys.) Q: Has any more money been put to the account? A: No. As at June 15, we have spent Rs. 15 million. Q: What is the balance now? A: The balance is Rs. 67 million. Q: When was this account started? A: Early January, I think. Q: Were you not in violation of the Presidential directive not to maintain separate accounts issued on December 29, 2004? A: We were not in violation. Anyway, direct those questions to the secretary. Q: You say these were monies earmarked for Hambantota. Who earmarked them, was it the donors and was it in writing? A: It was in writing. For instance, Plan International was one. I am not authorised to give you the other donors. Q: But you took out a full page advertisement in the state media on February 2, where you listed 22 donors. The list names the Korean Ambassador. Did he give you a request in writing? A: Yes Q: Could you give me some letters of donors in the list who have requested that their monies go to Hambantota? A: Those are with the secretary but even I may be able to find one or two letters. Im out of office, I can give them to you on Monday. * * * Accountant refuses to comment The Sunday Leader contacted Chief Accountant, Prime Ministers office, S.Subasinghe for his comments on the transfer of over Rs. 82 million from the Prime Ministers fund to a private account. Subasinghe declined to comment stating he was a public official and that all questions should be directed to Secretary to the Prime Minister, Lalith Weeratunga. thesundayleader.lk/20050703/spotlight.htm
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 19:31:04 +0000
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