A project meant to celebrate Sri Lankan culture is now at the center of a growing scandal, as artists turned political loyalists line up for a 300 million rupee tender using nothing more than influence, friendships, and hastily written proposals.
“One day – one theft, 300 million – for Samanali?” became the sarcastic question circulating as the current government launched several spectacular programs after assuming power. The first of these was Clean Sri Lanka. Despite spending billions of public tax money, Clean Sri Lanka has now become an extremely unsuccessful project. The next publicly funded program was Sri Lanka Day. Clean Sri Lanka had a political objective, attempting to construct an alternative cultural image to the long standing Sinhala Buddhist identity. However, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had no personal vision for this. These were borrowed concepts with no clear direction. With support from the Ministry of Finance, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake allocated 300 million rupees of public tax money for Sri Lanka Day.
Although the funds were allocated, President Anura had no idea how the project should be executed. Sri Lanka Day is scheduled for December 12, with less than a month remaining, but the government has failed to take even the most basic decisions. A meeting regarding the event was held not at the Presidential Secretariat or the Ministry of Finance, but at the JVP headquarters in Pelawatte. The fact that a publicly funded project is being discussed at a party office should be questioned.
Several individuals arrived with project reports hoping to secure the 300 million tender. None represented recognized institutions. They were individual business registrants such as Samanali Fonseka, Wimal Katipearachchi, and Kaushalya Kumarasinghe. These were people who wrote poems, performed songs, and appeared in media to help bring the government to power. Today they are submitting proposals to seize 300 million rupees of public money, receiving opportunities based on political friendship rather than talent.
Many capable young professionals in event management are denied opportunities, while political loyalists rush in. The submitted proposals were primitive, incomplete, and designed to extract money. The President has not approved them. Some urged canceling the event, but President Anura Kumara Dissanayake refused. A final meeting next Tuesday will decide how the 300 million rupees will be divided among the loyalists.
