Presidential election to cost Rs. 10.5 billion of public funds
- Monday, 08 December 2014
The forthcoming Presidential election is to cost Rs. 10.5 billion of public funds.
The Sunday Times quoting Treasury sources have stated that while the estimated cost of conducting of election by the Election Secretariat had been around Rs. 2.5 billion, spending of ministries and affiliated institutions including indirect costs as well as massive spending by President Mahinda Rajapaksa will add at least another Rs. 8 billion making the total cost for the 2015 presidential election a staggering Rs.10.5 billion.
Meetings of public sector officials of 15 different fields and other civil society groups held at Temple Trees as a precursor to the election has cost the state around Rs.750 million, official sources have been quoted as saying.
Meanwhile the Government Printers’ has requested for Rs. 250 million from the Treasury to print around 16 million ballot papers and other printed material.
Another Rs.1.5 million has been requested to purchase and install a power generator, which is to be used in case of power disruptions, as the ballot paper printing process should be completed at least two weeks before the election.
SLBC’s Hadda insults Bhikkus!
- Monday, 08 December 2014
In yesterday’s (07) ‘Rata Yana Atha’, a programme of SLBC which has received countrywide denunciation, Hudson Samarasinghe alias Punchi Premadasa’ has called Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha and Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Theras as ‘Sobhithya’ and ‘Rathanaya’, earning for himself further condemnation from the listeners.
Sobhitha Thera is venerated by Sri Lankan Buddhists for several decades due to the services he has been rendering to the country and the people, whereas Hadda with his garrulousness is snow singing his swan song, say SLBC employees who informed us about this insult to the two monks.
Meanwhile, Hudson has set fire to and destroyed the file prepared by the then director general Sunil Sarath Perera containing the charges against him for defrauding the nearly Rs. 01 million that was due to the SLBC from BBC some time ago, a female secretary of his has informed officials of the media ministry.
