The parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) yesterday asked the CID to inquire into a mysterious and anonymous circular sent to heads of public institutions asking them to disregard the Auditor General’s opinions published in annual financial reports. “The objective of the secretive and misleading circular which has been made to appear as emanating from the AG’s Department is an attempt to disrupt and undermine COPE inquires on 146 public enterprises and a challenge to parliamentary privileges,” a parliamentary source said. “The COPE Secretary has referred the circular to the CID on the instructions of COPE Chairman Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara because COPE considers this as a serious matter and all members of the committee are keen to find out who sent this circular and for what purpose.”

The Senior Minister in his final report to the Speaker last year observed that state enterprises have suffered huge losses as a result of ministers appointing nonprofessionals and under-qualified persons as heads of these enterprises

He said COPE members believed that the circular might have been sent by certain government politicians or officials disturbed by the recent tough action taken by COPE on errant heads of state enterprises.

The Senior Minister in his final report to the Speaker last year observed that state enterprises have suffered huge losses as a result of ministers appointing non-professionals and under-qualified persons as heads of these enterprises.

COPE recently wrote to ministry secretaries to take immediate action against errant heads of state enterprises and this led to the removal of the State Printing Corporation Chairman.

“It has been brought to the notice of COPE that an anonymous circular has been addressed to Heads of Institutions seemingly emanating from the Auditor General’s Department requiring them to disregard the Audit Opinions expressed by the Auditor General in the annual financial reports,” the letter by COPE Secretary to the Chief Accounting Officers and heads of public enterprises said.

This circular has also made disparaging references to Senior Officials of the AGs Department, challenging their integrity. COPE had, after an inquiry, found that the charges made against the officials were baseless, misleading and untrue.

“It is the considered view of COPE that by resorting to such sinister and pernicious attempts, t hese undesirable elements are seeking to undermine the smooth and orderly functioning of the Auditor General’s Department and thereby destabilize the lofty motives of COPE. It considers this as a surreptitious attempt t o violate t he provisions of t he Constitution through anonymity and bring the prestigious AG’s Department into disrepute and the control of public finance into ridicule,” the COPE letter said.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka