Leader of the Freedom People’s Congress Dullas Alahapperuma has raised concerns over the financial accountability and transparency over the misuse of Rs.720 million in public funds by the former Government under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
In a letter addressed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Opposition Leader, all Parliamentary Members as well as the Bribery and Corruption Commission, the leader of the Freedom People’s Congress, former MP Dullas Alahapperuma has said that the party plans to take legal action against the former Government under the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the misuse of public funds to the tune of Rs.720 million.
Alahapperuma has stated that the total estimated cost of holding the previously cancelled Local Government elections was Rs. 8 billion.
He has stated that the former Government’s decision under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the Local Government elections which was arbitrarily taken in the last week of January 2023 with the ulterior motive of former President Wickremesinghe to arbitrarily cancel the elections had resulted in the wastage of an unnecessary cost of around 10 percent of the overall projected budget surmounting to a loss of Rs. 720 million already spent on holding the LG polls.
According to Alahapperuma, the former Government’s actions have not only undermined the democratic processes but have also laid a financial burden on the public where taxpayer funds could have been utilised in a better way towards essential services like healthcare and education.
The Freedom People’s Congress headed by Dullas Alahapperuma has called for justice for all who have been impacted adversely due to the election delays estimating related damages at Rs. 20 million.
The Freedom People’s Congress has also highlighted other allegations of financial mismanagement under former President Wickremesinghe’s administration that include claims of corruption linked to the misuse of public resources.
Alahapperuma stated that it is politically more outrageous that former President Wickremesinghe, in order to satisfy his unspoken political lust, decided to postpone the LG election just before the postal ballot. In democratic terms, postponing the elections without any justifiable reason is a political abortion after a mass corruption, and in financial terms, it is now clear that this is an economic murder committed in broad daylight.
He stated that therefore, this should be included as Local Government polls robbery in the list of crimes mentioned in the political literature such as Central Bank robbery, sugar tax fraud, visa fraud and the perpetrators should be given severe punishment regardless of the political privileges they have been granted by the Constitution.
The statement by Alahapperuma’s party has pointed out that they as the citizens of the country are waiting with anticipation to see what measures and action that the incumbent President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his Government intend to take against these economic wrongdoers and that it is also important to inform the tax-paying public that justice will be served to the 22 million victims of the country as soon as the new LG polls is scheduled.
Dullas Alahapperuma has said in his statement that it is an urgent responsibility for former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to set an example of ethical conduct in electoral history by returning the misused public funds back to the citizens.
Varuna Dayaratne