Basil Rajapaksa’s fiasco
Depriving The Poor : Divi Neguma Department unlikely to recover the lost billions
by Nirmala Kannangara
Courtesy: The Sunday Leader
( August 2, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A cross section of Samurdhi beneficiaries claim that neither Kurunegala District UPFA candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa nor most of the candidates who had held portfolios during his tenure as President have the moral right to go before the people seeking yet another mandate to govern the country for a ‘better tomorrow’.
One of the allegations levelled against the Rajapaksa regime is the alleged misuse of Samurdhi funds that were meant for the betterment of the people who live below the poverty line.
Former Economic Development Minister Basil Rohana Rajapaksa was charged under the Public Property Act, remanded, and later bailed out, for allegedly misusing several billion rupees of Divi Neguma funds.
In early 2014, the previous government repealed the Southern Development Authority, Udarata Development Authority and Samurdhi Development Authority, transferring their powers and functions to the Department of Divi Neguma Development.
When the Divi Neguma Bill was put forward for parliamentary approval, questions were raised concerning its transparency and the extensive powers given to the Economic Development Minister who had access to its funds, said to be over Rs. 80 billion, at the time.
“We were not aware of the detrimental aspects of this project. It was the opposition, at the time, that raised concern about certain clauses that prevented Divi Neguma officials from divulging any information to the public. The Rajapaksa’s, who wanted this Bill passed, took revenge against those who tried to prevent this ‘worthy cause’. That was why the Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranaike was removed amidst uproar from all quarters,” a section of Samurdhi beneficiaries said on conditions of anonymity.
According to sources, the previous government promised the Samurdhi beneficiaries that the Bill would negate several white elephant projects and bring poverty eradication programmes under one department for better coordination and effective implementation.
However, according to them, the Samurdhi funds were heavily misused for the 2015 Presidential Election, depriving the poorest of poor people the benefit of the Samurdhi.
Theft under the guise of amalgamation
Reliable sources from the Department of Divi Neguma Development explained that former Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, who was in charge of Divi Neguma, had obtained Samurdhi funds, now known as Divi Neguma funds, to pay compensation and gratuity for those who had volunteered to go on retirement when the Department of Divi Neguma Development was formed after repealing the Southern Development Authority, the Udarata Development Authority and the Samurdhi Development Authority.
“The former minister instructed the Samurdhi banks to release funds to pay Rs.10,000 each to selected families to renovate their houses, to print five million New Year auspicious time calendars, and millions of rupees for the Divi Neguma Convention, in the run up to the presidential election, this year,” sources said.
“After amalgamation, 1,520 employees volunteered to go on retirement. The department had to pay compensation and gratuity amounting to Rs.1.177 billion. Instead of obtaining the approval from the Finance Ministry, on the verbal instructions of Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Director General of the Department of Divi Neguma Development R A A K Ranawaka instructed Director Micro Finance, in a letter dated December 1, 2014 (Ref: DVN/ ACC/ 08/ ESTI), to release the money from all Divi Neguma community base banks,” sources further observed.
According to sources, although it is the department’s administration division that has to pay gratuity and compensation, and, for this purpose, the planning and operation division had to be involved in the payments, their services had not been obtained, for reasons yet to be known.
“The Divi Neguma Department requested the Finance Ministry to release funds for these payments and, because there was no response from the Treasury, at the discretion of former Minister Rajapaksa, the District Directors released the necessary funds. The monies were released in the run up to the presidential election,” sources claimed.
Sources further said that the Divi Neguma community base banks have incurred huge losses as the Finance Ministry has not reimbursed the money.
At an inquiry held into the misappropriation of Divi Neguma funds, Director Divi Neguma Hambantota district Jagath Percy Rohitha, Manager Divi Neguma Kalutara Asurumuni Ratnasiri Perera, Manager Divi Neguma community base bank Horana Jayantha Rukmani, Acting Director Kalutara Priyantha Chandralal, Manager Matara district D M Seneviratne, Director Kandy district Thilini Uthpala, Managing Director Divi Neguma community base bank Buttala L P Weerasinghe, Director Colombo District Harshani Rathnamali, Director Gampaha District Ayesh Perera, and Manager Warakapola R H D Wijesena have confirmed that the Divi Neguma community base banks have suffered without any incomem in the form of the monthly interests, because the banks had to release their savings on the instruction of Director General Ranawaka.
“This money belongs to the Divi Neguma beneficiaries and not the ministry or departmental officials. All beneficiaries have to contribute towards the compulsory account under their names but cannot withdraw the money, if proper proofs are established, unless during an illness or for children’s higher education. All those who are over 70 years of age can also withdraw money from their accounts. For this money, the beneficiaries are given more interest but, since Rs.1.177 billion was taken to pay compensation and gratuity by the former Director General, the benefits the beneficiaries received have come to a standstill,” sources alleged.
Selective beneficiaries
Former Minister Rajapaksa had his officials, including the then Ministry Secretary Dr Nihal Jayathilaka and Divi Neguma Director General Ranawaka, obtain Rs.3.75 billion from Divi Neguma banks to provide a select group of Divi Neguma beneficiaries Rs.10,000 to renovate their houses.
“They wanted to give Rs.10,000 to each to selected families. They were not able to do so as they did not get the required money. So, at the first stage, they paid Rs. 2,500 an promised to provide the remaining Rs 7,500 at the second stage, but they were unable to pay it,” sources added.
Accusing the former Minister, sources said that it was unfair to pay Rs. 2,500 as an initial payment only to selected group who happened to be their party supporters. “All Divi Neguma beneficiaries are below the poverty line and this is discrimination,” sources said.
In a letter dated November 7, 2014 (Ref. DDD/ HO/ RICIF), the former Ministry Secretary Dr Nihal Jayathilake has said, to all regional coordinating Chairmen, that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had decided to pay Rs. 10,000 to renovate houses of a select group of beneficiaries and Rs. 2,500 would be given initially on November 17 and 18, 2014 and requested to release the necessary funds until he obtained the money from the Treasury.
Although these monies had been distributed on November 17 and 18, 2014, the Ministry Secretary had requested the money from the General Treasury only on November 27, 2014.
“This shows how the subject minister, his ministry secretary and the Director General of Divi Neguma had overruled government regulations and misused government funds to their whims and fancies. When we check the Divi Neguma programmes for 2014, these house renovation projects were not included, but were decided only after calling for a presidential election,” sources added.
Calendars, motorcycles and other loot
Another Rs. 29.4 million had been spent to print five million New Year auspicious time calendars (litha) for the benefit of the Divi Neguma beneficiaries without the Finance Ministry approval, sources alleged.
“The minister had given orders to get these calendars printed with Divi Neguma funds. A proper procurement procedure had not been followed as it was done as a hurried project. The previous regime said that these calendars were printed to be distributed amongst the Divi Neguma beneficiaries as it is a benefit for them. What is the benefit these under privileged people obtain from a calendar? We have to find out whether the entire money had been spent to print these calendars or whether some of these monies were looted,” sources charged.
Allegations have also been levelled against Basil Rajapaksa for spending Divi Neguma funds to hold the Divi Neguma national convention on November 21, 2014 at Campbell Park, Colombo.
“The first Divi Neguma national convention was held, spending Rs. 63.723 million, bypassing Treasury regulations, obtained from the Divi Neguma funds. There are around 36,000 Divi Neguma societies in the country and representatives of these committees and their party supporters were brought to Colombo for this convention not to talk about the future of Divi Neguma programms or their progress, but to show the opposition the number of people they could muster for their meetings. They were brought to Colombo by Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses and they were given food and incentives out of Divi Neguma funds,” sources alleged.
Sources questioned how Rs. 50,000 motor bicycle loans were given to 18,000 Samurdhi officers out of Divi Neguma funds, when Divi Neguma money is meant for its beneficiaries.
“What made the former minister release money to obtain these motorcycles for Samurdhi officers? When we inquired, we were told that it was unfair to sideline Samurdhi officers from giving this bicycle loan as, in the 2015 budget, the government had promised to provide this loan to government officers. If that is the reason, why couldn’t the minister obtain that money from a state bank? This was done to gain political mileage. The people are more educated now and do not get caught up by these incentives. What they need is good governance and that was why the previous regime was ousted,” sources claimed.
Accusing Basil Rajapaksa of misusing the Divi Neguma funds, the sources said, “It is known that the Rajapaksa family had control of 56% of every rupee spent by the former government. With this kind of access to the country’s expenditure, these scandals could be just the tip of the iceberg. If the good governance promised by the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe administration is further enforced, many more corrupt individuals of the Rajapaksa regime could be brought before the Financial Crime Investigation Department (FCID).”
Present Director General of the Department of Divi Neguma Development Dhammika Gunawardena confirmed to The Sunday Leader the financial losses incurred by the Divi Neguma Department due to the ad hoc manner in which the monies were used. He noted that it was dishearten to note how Divi Neguma funds have been utilized for political benefits and not for the benefits of the beneficiaries.
“Even if this huge amount of money was obtained from the general Treasury, it is still the taxpayers’ money that the former minister had used to obtain political mileage,” Gunawardena said, adding that the Divi Neguma Department was unlikely to recover the billions of rupees it has lost due to the actions of the former regime.
Former Minister Rajapaksa was not available for comment.