T shirts for Samurdhi festival Rs.70 mn paid for minister’s institution

By Hasitha Ranga Gunathilleke   

The Voice against Corruption organization claims that a garment institution owned by a Cabinet Minister has been paid Rs 70 million to make 25000 T shirts to be given away at the National Festival where 600,000 families would be provided with Samurdhi. 

The convener of the organization Wasantha Samarasinghe revealed yesterday that on several previous occasions too this Cabinet Minister had obtained the tenders for making T shirts for state projects.   

He said further that they deplore with disgust this type of manoeuvres by government MPS and Ministers to earn money under the pretext of providing Samurdhi to poor families aiming future election through state projects.   

Samarasinghe also declared that through the provision of Samurdhi benefits to 600,000 families the government has acknowledged that the number of poor people had increased.