Asvasuma double payments remain under scrutiny as Free Lawyers question unrecovered funds, lost interest and Treasury accountability.
Asvasuma double payments have triggered fresh criticism from the Free Lawyers organization, which says public funds paid outside state financial controls remain unanswered.
The following is based on a media release issued by the Free Lawyers organization.
The statement refers to the double and additional payments made to Asvasuma beneficiaries, and responds to the press release issued by the Welfare Benefits Board under the Ministry of Finance.
According to the Free Lawyers organization, the Welfare Benefits Board’s announcement regarding the additional payment of just under Rs. 5,000 million, or 500 crore, reflects what it described as the tragic collapse of public financial control.
The organization said the irresponsible attitude shown toward the disappearance of public tax money, which should be treated as communal property, further exposes the seriousness of the issue.
It also claimed that the figure given in the announcement regarding payments made to 49,759 individuals is misleading.
According to the organization, that number only represents the amount that has not been recovered so far.
In reality, it said, nearly Rs. 5,000 million had been placed in the hands of people entirely outside all checks and balances of the state financial management system.
The organization alleged that the Treasury has now become a talk shop with no financial discipline.
It further stated that, similar to what it called the Great Treasury Heist, the Asvasuma payment of Rs. 5,000 million could also become a money transfer that may one day be investigated as a crime, corruption, and fraud involving the use of state funds.
The Free Lawyers organization also pointed out that the Welfare Benefits Board announcement made no reference to the loss caused to the government through the money already paid, including the interest accruing on that amount.
The statement added that part of this money has already been used by some of the poorest people in the country to meet their basic needs.
If the entire amount is recovered from their May Asvasuma installment, the organization warned, those recipients could be left helpless and unable to meet nutritional and other essential needs.
It said such a situation must be avoided at all costs.
The organization stressed that the poorest people in the country should not have to pay compensation for the mistakes of the Ministry of Finance and what it described as its amateur officials.
If such lapses continue, it warned, the Ministry of Finance could become a laughing stock among international financial institutions, commercial banks, and citizens.
The Free Lawyers organization emphasized that the Treasury must now be placed under the control of a senior state official who is not “uninitiated.”
Otherwise, it warned, such lapses, errors, and hacker attacks at the Treasury will continue to occur repeatedly, making the evaporation of public tax money unavoidable.
The statement was issued on behalf of the Free Lawyers organization by President’s Counsel Maithree Gunaratne, Attorney at Law Athula de Silva, and Rajitha Keerthi Tennakoon.
