President’s COVID-19 Fund gets Rs. 140 m in donations

A large number of organisations and individual donors have contributed Rs. 140 million worth of funds to strengthen the COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement yesterday.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa established this Fund on 23 March to strengthen the mitigation activities aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19 virus in the country and related social welfare programs. Creating the Fund, President Rajapaksa donated Rs. 100 million from the President’s Fund. The Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic) Trust Fund and Malwatta and Asgiriya Chapters donated Rs. 20 million to the COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund.

At present the Fund has received donations worth Rs. 140 million, including the contributions from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (Rs. 2.5 million), Presidential Secretariat (Rs. 200,000), Sri Lanka Engineering Service Association (Rs. 6.5 million), Ananda College Old Boys’ Association Colombo (Rs. 2.5 million), Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (Rs. 1 million), Association of Public Service Engineers (Rs. 3 million), State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka (Rs. 1 million) and 

cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan 

(Rs. 5 million).

A special account had been opened at the Corporate Branch of the Bank of Ceylon under the account number 85737373. Local as well as foreign donors have made their contributions to the Fund.

Donations to the COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund have been exempted from taxes and foreign exchange regulations. Deposits can be made through cheques or telegraphic transfers.

The management of the Healthcare and Social Security Fund will be entrusted to a highly-qualified panel of professionals in the fields of administration, finance and banking sectors. The panel will comprise secretaries to the ministries, the Director General of Health Services, and audit and banking experts.

Secretary to the President Dr. P. B. Jayasundera emphasised that this would be an opportunity for the local and foreign companies to make their contributions towards this humanitarian mission.