President’s Fund is a tragedy

There must be uniform criteria for eligibility to apply for and obtain financial assistance from the President’s Fund, followed by monitoring and evaluation assessment

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa

“Political corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity” — Joe Biden, former vice president of the United States.

Introduction 

This article highlights some crucial aspects of Minister Nalinda Jayatissa’s recent disclosure in Parliament about the facts and figures of misuse of the President’s Fund by politicians. As mentioned above, the disclosure is related to the President’s Fund Act, No. 07 of 1978. Under section 6 of the Act, the purposes for which the amounts of money of the Fund may be applied are (i) Relief of poverty (ii) Promotion of education or knowledge (iii) Promotion of religious or maintenance of religious practices, (iv) Donations to those who have rendered a national service (v) Any other welfare related matter decided by the President or Board of Governors. The board of governors of the Fund is comprised of (i) the president, (i) the prime minister, (iii) the speaker, (iv) the opposition leader, (v) the secretary to the president, and (vi) two other members appointed by the president by the subsections of the statute. 

Board of Governors and allocation of funds

 Given the above, the purposes of the Act are crystal clear, while the President’s Fund received its capital from individuals as donations and institutions like the Development Lotteries Board (DLB). Irrespective of the sources of funds, the President’s Fund is part and parcel of the nation’s assets, and people individually or collectively earn and contribute to the Fund. Now, it is up to the President and Board of Governors to decide and ensure the proper use of funds to serve the purposes of the President’s Fund. According to the composition of the board of members of the Fund, they are well-recognised and knowledgeable individuals. Hence, people and the country expect to consider every application seriously and responsibly so that funds are allocated for the correct/right purpose and the right applicants. Minister Nalinda Jayatissa disclosed that 36 former Ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) received Rs. 112.5 million from the President’s Fund from 2005 to 2024. 

According to Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, among many, former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella received Rs. 11 million, former Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne received Rs. 10 million, late Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne received Rs. 30 million, and former MP Ranjith De Zoysa received Rs. 18 million. Apart from the above, Wasudewa Nanayakkara, Widura Wickremanayake, Wimala Dissanayake, Sumeda Jayasena, S.B. Nawinna, John Amaratunga, Sarath Amungama, P. Harrison, Piyasena Gamage, Manoj Sirisena, P. Dayaratane and S.C. Muthukumarana received financial assistance from the President’s Fund. 

Another important disclosure is some individuals have hid or concealed their well-known names to the public. Examples, J.P.D.P.K. Jayasekara from Kurunegala, Dayasiri Jayasekara, H.M.P.N. De Silva from Kalutara, Piyalal Nishantha De Silva, S.A.D.S. Premajayantha from Nugegoda, Sunil Premajayngha and EAIDP Perera, Isuru Devepriya Perera. Furthermore, it should be noted that from 2005 to 2024, the Fund was headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa (Jayantha Weerasinghe, the legal advisor to Mahinda Rajapaksa, received Rs. 9 million), Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe.  

Some concerns and issues about the President’s Fund 

As indicated above, along with five purposes, mainly based on the relief of poverty, the fund could help and assist the poor because more than one-third of the population in Sri Lanka is poor. I will not explain the nature and extent of poorness as I have explained the same in my 38 articles published in the Colombo Telegraph and Daily FT. However, as per the website of the President’s Fund, the funds are allocated for activities such as medical assistance for various diseases, poverty relief programs, the Mahapola Scholarship Programme, scholarships for children who have passed the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level), and Ordinary Level Examinations, may be related to poverty one way or another. 

Among the objectives of the Fund and if we focus on medical assistance for various diseases, I am sure the current public concern is the most significant issue. In short, everyone, including the king, queen, and beggars, falls sick, so all need due care and treatment. It is well-known that public notices in print media and other sources request assistance such as Rs. 1-2 million for heart surgery and kidney implants because the cost cannot be afforded even if they sell all properties or assets, which is true. None of the former Ministers and MPs, as revealed by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, who obtained funds from the President’s Fund, requested public assistance via print media and other sources because their political affiliations helped them to get the required financial assistance from the President’s Fund, or it was a captive financial source for politicians. 

Given the above, there is significant discrimination between those individuals who had political affiliation and support and those who did not have such political affiliation and support; it is a tragedy indeed. Some ordinary people received instalment assistance even though they requested small amounts, while politicians obtained millions in one go. Furthermore, compared to the people who made public appeals for assistance were not rich at all. However, as revealed by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, the list of politicians was not poor; they could afford money. Good examples are Keheliya Rambukwella (KR) and D.M. Dayatratne, both are well-known political thieves in Sri Lanka. 

As it is all known to the public about KR, about Rs. billions of his assets, I am not going to write about him. Currently, he is resting before going behind bars in the future. However, in 2014, there was an issue related to D.M. Jayaratne (then Prime Minister in Sri Lanka) regarding drugs. It was revealed in the media that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also has called for the Prime Minister’s resignation. Its parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, “The Government should hold a full inquiry into allegations that the Prime Minister’s coordinating secretary issued a letter to clear a consignment which was later found to be carrying drugs. We see that his remaining in office hinders an impartial and proper inquiry. He should temporarily resign until the inquiries are over.”

According to a recent communique from Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) about the disclosure by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, he indicated that he did not approve anyone more than Rs. 1 million. However, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne states that he received Rs. 10 million from RW without application, utter favouritism because RW did not have the concern for ordinary people who made public appeals for funds such as Rs. 1-2 million for heart surgery and kidney implant, the issue. After Minister Nalinda Jayatissa’s revelation, some cries came from former Ministers and MPs who obtained funds. 

MP Manoj Sirisena said, “I did not do any wrongdoing,” but his eligibility is the concern. Ranjith Aluvihare said, “I obtained funds based on medical reports.” Yes, it is common for all, but whether he is eligible to apply is the concern. S.C. Muthukuamarana said, “Yes, I also got money but it was not that much.” The issue is that he obtained a substantially higher amount compared with the ordinary applicants due to political influence. Given the above, all wrongdoers come with explanations and excuses. But their “conscience” is a matter of public concern. 

Another concern is the transparency and credibility of the Fund’s operation. Amounts such as Rs. 30 have been granted but are unknown to the Parliament and the public. Indeed, the total sum is Rs. 112.5 million. It is a well-known fact that MPs went to Parliament as representatives of the people, enjoyed all the privileges that ordinary people do not have, and finally received the world’s best treatment and care via the President’s Fund so that the whole lives of those politicians were looked after by ordinary people—a critical aspect of the use of the President’s Fund. 

There must be uniform criteria for eligibility to apply for and obtain financial assistance from the President’s Fund, followed by monitoring and evaluation assessment of whether funds have been used for the intended purpose, and so on. Currently, the above is not in place is a tragedy, so that the accountability and credibility of the board of governors of the Fund is in question. 

President’s Fund is a tragedy 

We must appreciate the fact that the establishment of the President’s Fund in 1978 was a great move. However, as revealed by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, from President to Ministers and MPs, it had been utterly misused and mismanaged because of political influence and involvement, where ordinary people or voters who elected their representatives to the Parliament had been neglected along with disproportionate or unequal allocation of funds, the naked truth. When someone falls sick, it is political influence or involvement that discriminates between the ordinary people and those politically affiliated; it is totally against democracy and human rights, too.

In short, political favouritism had been part and parcel of the 76 years of political history people rejected during presidential and parliamentary elections. Now it is up to the AKD/NPP headed Government to revisit the President’s Fund to ensure that revelation by Minister Nalinda Jayatissa has been taken seriously on board and serves the stated objectives of the President’s Fund; the following will be useful and relevant to be considered in due course: 

(i)Having clearly defined eligibility criteria for application for financial assistance from the Fund;

(ii) Strictly adhere to the eligibility criteria and ascertain that funds have been used only for the intended purpose or no misuse of funds; 

(iii) Complete avoidance of any political involvement or influence or any form of mismanagement of the Fund; 

(iv) Maintain and ensure a high degree of responsibility, accountability, and credibility in all aspects of the operation of the Fund;

(v) The Presidential Secretariat must prepare and publish an annual report about all aspects of the operation, including details of donors, letters of appreciation from the fund recipients and government auditor general’s reports; and all known to the parliament and public; 

(vi) Public awareness for requesting financial assistance/donation to the Fund, while noticing the availability of financial assistance from the Fund to needy people; 

(vii) Only the President is responsible and accountable for all aspects of the operation of the Fund;

(viii) Finally, proper investigations into all aspects of the Fund’s past operation must be conducted and completed within a given time period. Accordingly, wrongdoers must be punished to ensure that the AKD-headed Government does not tolerate misuse and mismanagement of public funds and that the law applies equally and fairly to all in the country, “The Meaning of Rata Anurata”. 

If the above is followed systematically and strategically, the President’s Fund will not be a tragedy for the nation in the future. 

(The writer worked as the Special Advisor to the Office of the President of Namibia and was a Senior Consultant with UNDP for 20 years. He worked as a Senior Economist with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1972-1993) before he migrated to New Zealand. He can be contacted via [email protected].)