TS’s refusal to attend COPF meeting a kick in the face of the people’s mandate: Harsha

By Yohan Perera   

The refusal of Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma is a high handed act and a kick in the face of the promised ‘system change’ the people of this country voted for, says Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Dr. Harsha de Silva  “This high handed act shows total lack of respect for the parliamentary system of checks and balances that is so critical in post-crisis [that is why the COPF is chaired by a member of the opposition since the 2022 meltdown].

It is a kick in the face of the promised ‘system change’ the people of this country voted for. It is also a breakdown of the undertaking to IMF on governance. His excuse is that the President will address Parliament next week and he can come by thereafter. That is not acceptable and unrelated,” de Silva said in his X message.   

“The Treasury Secretary has informed me now that he is not able to present himself at the Committee on Public Finance tomorrow to discuss the issues regarding the missing USD 2.5m. This is unacceptable as the Constitution of Sri Lanka places full control of public Finance with Parliament and by standing order COPF is directly responsible for oversight on debt repayment among many other important matters. Thus, he being summoned is not an act of discretion but a constitutional duty of the Committee. He has to answer questions by the committee. And he has the opportunity to put the ‘record straight’ if by any chance he was being wrongly accused. Why is he running away? What is there to hide? As the incumbent TS he has a responsibility. He must fulfil that responsibility or if he cannot, he must give it to someone who can fulfil the responsibility,” he added.