Namal Rajapaksa warns of hackers in Divisional Secretariat offices, raising fraud, Port City, Treasury, banking and governance concerns.
Namal Rajapaksa has warned Parliament about what he called a “hacker” being placed in every Divisional Secretariat office, claiming the government cannot cover up its alleged frauds.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna National Organizer and Member of Parliament Namal Rajapaksa made the remarks while addressing Parliament today, accusing the government of using a “hacker narrative” whenever allegations of fraud arise.
“I need to remind the President that no matter what they do, they will not be able to cover up their frauds,” Rajapaksa said.
Speaking further, Rajapaksa referred to remarks previously made about Port City and questioned what he described as the government’s earlier “baby talk” over the project.
“They spoke especially about babies. What did they say back then when Port City was being built? If Port City was built the way these people say, there would be no Sigiriya today. Why would you need to break Sigiriya to build Port City? According to what these people say, you would need a passport to go to Port City today. The baby talk from those in this government. They said it would be turned into a Chinese colony. But we are happy that you are at least making an effort to do something about this now. However, they don’t know how to get it done,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the Colombo Port City was built for transactions, not only for real estate.
He said buildings and real estate were necessary, but warned that frequent changes in policy, especially when they appear to suit the government’s political convenience, could make doing business difficult with countries competing alongside Sri Lanka.
“The first thing is, Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Colombo Port City was built for transactions. Not just for real estate. Real estate is needed; buildings need to be constructed. When policies are changed in a way that seems favorable to the government whenever they think, there is a difficulty in doing business with other countries that have been challenged alongside us,” he said.
He questioned why investors entering Port City should be required to inform the Cabinet or Parliament.
“Now, when investors come to Port City, we have to inform the Cabinet. We have to inform Parliament. Who on earth is making such an investment? There are countries competing with us. On one side is India’s Gift City. Singapore and Hong Kong are facing some crisis in the Middle East with the current Gulf crisis. They are looking for new markets. They are looking for new transaction hubs. We are ready to go there. Do we have a transparent business plan centred around the Colombo Port City to go there? At the very least, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we question whether the government understands the necessity,” he said.
Rajapaksa said the current Middle East crisis had created an opportunity for alternative transaction centers and countries to attract business.
He said Sri Lanka should create an environment where investors could come freely and conduct business with the required facilities, policy certainty, transaction systems, freedom, and transparency.
However, he claimed that such an effort was not visible from the government.
“During this past period, we see you asking investors to come,” he said.
Rajapaksa then raised concerns over the reported disappearance of more than 13 billion from a private bank.
“Now, Mr. Deputy Leader, more than 13 billion went missing from a private bank. In this country, if an ordinary person goes to a bank and deposits even one hundred thousand rupees, how many questions are asked? But the government, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Bank kept quiet until that 13 billion went missing,” he said.
He said village people, Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, and innocent businessmen were asked “sixty questions,” but alleged that authorities remained silent until 13 and a half or 14 billion went missing from a leading bank in Sri Lanka.
“But let’s move on from there. Now it’s your hacker narrative. If there’s a fraud in this government, it’s a hacker,” Rajapaksa said.
He also referred to the alleged payment of more than Rs. 80 crore to the wrong account.
“They’ve paid over Rs. 80 crore ten times over. If the dollar increases tomorrow, it will increase further, you have credited over Rs. 80 crore to the wrong account. I saw one MP say that mistakes happen. Yes, such mistakes are good for a government. They’ve been given the chance to learn from deadly experiences,” he said.
Rajapaksa said that when questions were raised, the government claimed it was digitalising the entire state machinery.
He questioned how such errors could occur if basic email reading and account number entry were not properly handled.
“When asked, they said they were digitalising the entire state machinery and getting the job done. As if they can’t read an email and enter an account number,” he said.
He alleged that payments had repeatedly gone to the wrong account despite notifications from the Central Bank.
“But on the other hand, they pay ten times to the wrong account. The Central Bank notifies them, but they pay again. Now who is responsible for this? It’s easy to say it’s a hacker related to a Rajapaksa. That’s the easiest story, Mr. Speaker. But this is the people’s tax money,” he said.
Rajapaksa also questioned the government’s transparency claims and referred to a Postal Department payment.
“You talk so much about transparency. You pay $600,000 from the Postal Department to the wrong account. How does this keep happening? How can you say this is not organised?” he asked.
He then referred to alleged double payments to contractors at the Road Development Authority.
“Alright, let’s say we listened to your lies. The second, the third, a double payment goes to contractors at the RDA. Can’t you understand that? They still haven’t been able to recover 51 million from that. Now, when you make these payments to wrong accounts, what action did you take?” he asked.
Rajapaksa claimed the CID moves quickly in some matters linked to the President, but questioned why it did not act with the same urgency when Rs. 80 crore was allegedly credited to the wrong account.
“Mr. President, Minister of Finance, now the CID runs after everything in this government. Even if a post hurts the President’s feelings, the CID runs. In a government where the CID runs even when the President’s feelings are hurt, why didn’t the CID run when Rs. 80 crore was credited to the wrong account? What action was taken? What steps were taken?” he asked.
He alleged that no steps were taken and claimed that an attempt was made to cover up the matter.
“They didn’t take any steps. They tried to cover this up. The President knew about this in January. No decision was made. No action was taken,” he said.
Rajapaksa also referred to what he called a coal scam.
“On one hand, there was a coal scam. They didn’t bring it after testing it; they tested it after bringing it. But the way they shamelessly say it’s not a coal scam. The COPF chairman says that. It’s shameful,” he said.
He further alleged that Sri Lanka had become the country that paid the highest price in the world for oil.
“We have become the country that paid the highest price in the world for oil. We bought oil for between 286 and 302. We have become the country that paid the highest price in the world for oil. But where does every single rupee, every single dollar ultimately go? To the people of this country,” he said.
Rajapaksa then turned to what he described as a new theory involving the appointment of representatives to Divisional Secretariat offices.
“Now they are starting a new theory. You are putting your representative, a hacker, into every Divisional Secretariat office. We suspect whether this is to accumulate social capital. What do you hope to achieve by giving a political appointment and putting a hacker into every Divisional Secretariat office?” he asked.
He said Divisional Secretaries and District Secretaries had written against the move, but claimed the government was not listening.
“The Divisional Secretaries and District Secretaries have written to you against this. But you don’t listen. To fulfill your political desires, you are appointing your hackers to Divisional Secretariat offices,” he said.
Rajapaksa warned that if the Ministry of Finance was now being described as linked to a hacker, the next concern would be Divisional Secretariat offices.
“Now they say the Ministry of Finance is also a hacker. Next, what are they planning to hack? The Divisional Secretariat offices. So, Mr. Deputy Speaker, please pay attention to this as well,” he said.
He also raised the case of a fisherman from Jaffna named Ajanthan, who he said had been assaulted by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters.
“A fisherman from Jaffna named Ajanthan was assaulted by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters. He was taken to India. He is still in a hospital in Chennai, India, after receiving stitches. We request the Foreign Minister to intervene internationally in this matter,” Rajapaksa said.
He said the government speaks often about the people of the North, but had not intervened properly in this matter.
“Because you talk a lot about the people of the North. But you haven’t intervened in this yet. Even today, the family of this fisherman is going to the police and complaining. We do not see any government intervention in this matter,” he said.
Finally, Rajapaksa criticised the President and Ministers over their conduct on the May Day stage.
“Finally, we saw our President and Ministers on the May Day stage reading out court records with great pride. They didn’t talk about workers. Mr. Deputy Speaker, they read out court records,” he said.
He also referred to a remark allegedly made by the President.
“I saw the President say, ‘That dog wearing the collar of the Anuva Malekaraya’. But I need to tell these 150 people to go and remind the President that no matter what they do, they will not be able to cover up their frauds,” Rajapaksa said.
However, questions remain over how the government will respond to Rajapaksa’s allegations involving Port City policy, banking fraud claims, Treasury payments, digitalisation, Divisional Secretariat appointments, and the Jaffna fisherman’s case.
What happens next could be critical, as the debate now touches not only alleged financial irregularities, but also investor confidence, state digitalisation, public money, and the credibility of government accountability.
