The National Audit Bill, which is expected to control financial mismanagement in state institutions, was passed with amendments in Parliament without a vote Thursday (July 05th).
The Bill provides for the powers, duties and functions of the Audit Service Commission and the establishment of the office of the National Audit Office and the Sri Lanka State Audit Service. It also specifies the role of the Auditor General over public finance.
The National Audit Bill was presented to Parliament on the 03rd of April 2018 by the Chief Government Whip on behalf of the Prime Minister and Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament Thursday stated that the Yahapalanaya Government had been able to introduce the National Audit Bill despite successive governments failing in the task since 2003. “The Bill was initially proposed by the then Government in 2003. I tried to bring it in as the Prime Minister of that government but was unable to do so. Thereafter successive governments failed to introduce the National Audit Bill until this Government decided to do so after being elected in 2015.”
He said that President Maithripala Sirisena too had been keen to establish the Right to Information Commission and the National Audit Commission.
The JVP warned the masses not to have high hopes that the National Audit Act would curb corruption as the version of the National Audit Bill presented to Parliament was a diluted version. Taking part in the Second Reading debate of the National Audit Bill, JVP MP Sunil Handunetti said that the original draft of the Bill had numerous provisions to prevent fraud and corruption.
“There was an undue delay in presenting the Bill to Parliament and during that delay the Bill was stripped of its powers. It was marketed as a superman against corruption but what we now have before us is a straw man. This is only a dummy of the original bill. This is nothing but a scarecrow. It has no powers,” MP Handunnetti charged.
Further criticising the Bill, MP Handunetti said that the JVP would propose 16 amendments to the Bill to strengthen it against corruption.
“It is the duty of Parliament to give real life to this scarecrow. The substance of the original Bill has been removed. For that purpose we propose 16 amendments to the Bill. If the Bill is passed without incorporating the amendments we propose, then those who are waiting to rob the public institutions and continue their corruption need not fear for this new law. If this Bill is passed as it is now, then even an individual who robs the Central Bank and is found guilty for that crime would get only a maximum fine of Rs. 5,000. At least they should make it the minimum fine. The original Bill had a maximum fine of Rs. 100,000. It has now been reduced to Rs. 5,000. Who did that? The Government has brought an amendment to that effect. The worst of this Bill is that it contains provisions to narrow down the scope of the Auditor General. Some of the subjects have been taken out from his auditing scope. Could anyone against corruption and fraud expect anything worse than that?” MP Handunetti said.
