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| Friday, 28 January 2005 |
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Communications Director of the Ministry of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Dihan Hettige referring to an invitation by the convenor of Transparency International Sri Lanka J.C. Weliamuna to the Presidential Spokesman and Director General of Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (RRR) Harim Peiris to attend a Donor Forum today (28th) organised by TRISL says: This refers to your letter dated 25 January 2005 addressed to the Presidential Spokesman and Director General 'RRR' and passed on to me. At the outset I must state my surprise and disappointment that you have publicly in the media expressed concern regarding corruption and misappropriation within the government, without the due diligence of consulting the relevant government authorities. This has led to strident claims of cancers on your part, closely followed by baseless allegations on the part of others, which indicate a concerted and coordinated effort to discredit the government for partisan and political gain. We believe that your operations in Sri Lanka on behalf of Transparency International may not be in keeping with the status of Transparency International globally. Given that you have acted without good faith, it is doubtful that we would get a fair hearing in a meeting organised by you. We are however ready at any time to meet with the relevant donors individually or as a group to describe mechanisms that exist within the government to ensure transparency as well as additional measures being taken. These include among others: (1) All public funds in Sri Lanka have Parliamentary oversight and are under its control. (2) Foreign assistance received to the Consolidated Fund are documented and managed by the Central Bank, External Resources Department and the General Treasury whose reports are duly made public. (3) A large portion of the rehabilitation assistance has been received by the non state sector whose own operations should be less opaque. (4) The acceptance by the Government of a pro bono offer by Mckenzie Consulting to advise on mechanisms for additional measures for transparency and accountability. We would be grateful if you would share this with the participants at the forum. Hettige's letter was also copied to Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sarvodaya and all Media institutions. |
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