Speaker orders audit to determine expenditure of previous Parliament

By Yohan Perera   

Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne has ordered the Department of Finance and Supplies of Parliament to conduct an audit to determine how the House funds have been used during the past few years, an official said yesterday.   

Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne told Daily Mirror that an audit will be conducted to determine the expenditure of the previous Parliament. “The audit has already begun,” he said.   

The audit is aimed at determining amounts of funds spent for the former Speaker, former Deputy Speaker and former Chairman of committees.   

“The Speaker wanted some details on the expenditure of the House last year,” he said. He said a full audit is being conducted currently.   

Mr. Kularatne said the information that an official attached to the House has got a vehicle for his daughter may be one that had come out during the conduct of the audit.   

It was alleged by Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake recently that the former Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena had used fuel worth 33 million within nine months from January 1, 2024 to September 24, 2024 which amounts to Rs. 4 million per month. It was alleged that the former Speaker has used nine vehicles and his fuel cost for nine months was Rs. 33 million. However, Mr. Abeywardena denied these allegations and said falsehood is spread merely for political gain. He denied using the official residence of the Speaker during his tenure.