A sum of Rs. 20.7 million paid for a two hour program to Bathiya

Oct 24, 2015

A private company operated by a famous a singer has been paid Rs. 20.7 million for a two hour program for the opening ceremony of the Bellanwila walking lane and food court which was constructed under the guidance of the former defense and urban development ministry secretary and implemented by the Sri Lanka land reclamation and development corporation.

This large amount is paid for a private company named Fortune entertainments (pvt) Limited for a two and a half hour program performed by Bathiya Jayakody on September 9th 2014 from 5.30pm to 7.50pm. When you calculate Rs. 200,000 has been spent per minute for this performance.

No prior permission taken From the investigations conducted this large amount has been spent for a function headed by a state leader without following proper procurement process and by giving a direct payment for the private company without taking a prior approval from the director board.

The Bellanwila phase was opened on that day under the development project named “Weressagaha Project”

A sum of Rs. 10.38 million was paid for the welcome dance, 11 million was paid for another feature, Rs. 3.8 million was paid for another performance and another 800,000 has been paid for miscellaneous expenses totaling the amount for 20.76 million and fourteen thousand
four hundred and forty.

Cultural feature expense exceeds 10 million Another 10.19 million and fifty four thousand has been spent for another cultural part for the same function. According to the reports
on September 17th 2014 a sum of Rs. 10.56 million and six hundred sixty six has been paid.

A senior public servant in the corporation said the state auditor’s office has pointed out following the failure to call competitive quotations for such large functions and offering the business to a private company on personal wish has caused large economic burden to
the corporation.