COPE to summon ministry secretaries

The parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) will summon ministry secretaries including presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga and treasury secretary P.B. Jayasundara to discuss its recommendations to minimise losses by introducing better management practices at state institutions.

COPE Chairman and Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara today stressed the need to ensure that COPE recommendations and guidelines are carried out by the top management at state institutions.

He said it was extremely vital to follow the guidelines underscored by COPE so as to maintain administrative and financial discipline at a time the government had launched a massive development drive.

“The government can least afford to let state institutions negate the benefits of development through irregularities, corruption and mismanagement. Therefore, COPE has decided to take measures to ensure that all state ventures strictly adhere to COPE guidelines and administrative and financial directives of the government. This will be a continuing process from next year,” the senior minister said.

He said some of the COPE recommendations had to be implemented by the President and some others by the cabinet and ministry secretaries.

The COPE report was presented by its chairman to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa last week.

The senior minister observed that not only the heads and top management must be held responsible for mismanagement and loss making at state ventures but the ministry secretaries as well.

“We expect to announce a set of new regulations which must be strictly adhered to if administrative and financial discipline is to be maintained. The heads of institutions should be held accountable for all administrative and financial lapses even after they have retired, resigned or been removed, from service,” he said.

The 31-member COPE examined 229 government enterprises and declared that 40 of them were loss-making due to corruption and mismanagement. (Sandun A. Jayasekere)