Rs 600 M missing from Education Cooperative Fund

2013-02-22 A sum of Rs 600 million, deposited in a State bank by the Education Employees' Cooperative, Thrift and Credit Society Limited has gone missing, the Coalition Against Corruption alleged. As a result, around 150,000 members of the society are unable to obtain loans and other facilities, the Transparency International press release said. The media release stated: The membership of the Society, which was established in 1930 comprises mainly teachers and other staff in the education sector. Each member contributes Rs 466 monthly as subscription. The Society earns additional income through interest on loans issued to its members. However, the government does not contribute towards the fund. Coalition member and General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU), Joseph Stalin, alleged already Rs 11,250,000 from the fund has been spent on purchasing a land with an extent of 25 perches in Badulla to build a district office for the Society. “The value paid for the land is quite excessive and it has been later found it had been a paddy land, which is not at all conducive for any construction. Up to now no building has been constructed on the land,” he added. No citizenship By Chrishanthi Christopher-2013-02-22 The Sri Lankans, who have sought asylum in other countries, have been excluded from the Sri Lankan citizenship under the new Citizenship Act, the Controller of Immigration and Emigration, Chulanada Perera told Ceylon Today. He said the Department and Emigration will soon start accepting applications for dual citizenship. Perera said the Department is awaiting an amendment to the Citizenship Act that will come into force soon. "The Bill is with the Legal Draftsman for amendment and will soon be ready," Perera said. According to the amended Act, all Sri Lankan citizens, who have applied for dual citizenship will be acutely scrutinized as to their suitability and worthiness to the country. "Those who have left the country and claimed asylum in other countries cannot apply for citizenship. "There is definitely no chance for them," he said. Talking about the amendment to the Act he said all applicants have to fulfil certain criteria to be eligible. He dismissed media reports that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will meet them and have a one-on-one interview. "It is not possible, but all those who qualify according to the terms of the new amendment, will be granted dual citizenship," he said. He revealed that some 750 applications that have been on hold since the suspension of the dual citizenship scheme in 15 February 2011 and will be processed. The Department, although wanted to start processing the applications early as 1 January 2013 has been held back because of the delay at the Legal Draftsmen's office. "The Cabinet has already approved the bill," he said. It is learnt that around 3,500 Sri Lankan citizens living abroad enjoy dual citizenship in Sri Lanka. Convener of the Coalition, Saman Ratnapriya said a land on Keppetipola Road, Kandy was purchased for Rs 36,400,000 with only three members approving the purchase. “However, it was discovered the land is the subject matter of an ongoing testamentary case between five persons and as a result the Cooperative lost 11 perches subsequently. Therefore, the fund lost a further Rs 8.7 million on this purchase. The money belongs to the members of the cooperative and losses are due to the failure to follow established practices such as calling for tenders.” Ratnapriya also said around May 2011 steps were taken hastily to establish six district offices. “Thereafter, Rs 80,000 and Rs 70,000 were paid as advances for a two-year lease periods for two premises in the Gampaha and Kalutara Districts respectively. These offices are not necessary for the cooperative society. The payment of rent for the district offices is an unnecessary expense and a waste of public funds. “Rs 60 million was allocated by the board of the society to repair 10 holiday bungalows of the Society, but it is reported the repairs are substandard. The level of the holiday bungalow in Anuradhapura was to be raised by one foot as it was frequently affected by floods that hit the area. A further Rs 3.5 million was allocated for this purpose and to purchase new furniture. However, only a few mattresses have been purchased till date. Air conditioners were to be fixed for every bungalow, but that has not been done as yet,” he charged. According to W.P Dayaratne, Secretary of the Professional Teachers’ Association, Rs 940,000 has been spent on demolishing part of the main office building of the Cooperative Society located on the Galle Road, which required to be modernized. “However, this has turned out to be futile as there are no funds to rebuild and modernize the main office. “Rs 400,000 is being paid to a team of lawyers who have been retained by the board on behalf of the society for court cases in which the society is not a party. Two vehicles purchased for Rs 8 million at the time the present management board was elected, are now being used for the personal work of the board members. No tender procedure was adopted nor was any needs assessment done prior to the purchase of the vehicles. “As at present, the fund and the assets of the society are valued at Rs 7 billion. However, no audit has been carried out in recent years. The Cooperative Society has now received written orders and from the minister who has been assigned the subject of Cooperatives to pass the purported audited accounts without holding an Annual General Meeting.” The Coalition Against Corruption also said the accumulation of applications for distress and property loans, which are not processed, failure to allocate funds for scholarships and gratuity, the introduction of a waiting list to issue loan applications, failure to pay bonuses to the members and the failure to meet daily administrative expenses of the cooperative society and to pay salaries of the employees of the society is indicative of the dismal state of the funds of the cooperative. According to its members, the main reasons for this state are the waste of the funds, malpractices and corruption in the management of the Cooperative Society.” (Ceylon Today Online)