National Audit Office asks SLC to follow proper procedure

The National Audit Office (NAO) has recommended strict adherence to procedure when implementing the proposed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) campus in Kandy.

In an ambitious plan to improve the overall standards of the game, Sri Lanka Cricket took initial steps in 2017 to set up a million rupee campus on land leased from the Malwathu Maha Vihara in Kandy but the project didn’t start after an administration change in May last year.

The SLC had hoped to bring in coaches, curators and trainers from other parts of Asia to undergo training, in addition to Sri Lankans, thus becoming the first country in the region to boast a multi-faceted cricketing facility. But the project has been on hold. While the land has been leased, there has been little other work. The NAO report observes that SLC has made provisions of Rs 50 million, Rs 200 million and Rs 10 million for use in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. However, it has used only a fraction of this: Rs 26mn in 2017 for preliminary work and another Rs 500,000 last year.

In its response to NAO observations, the SLC says: “Land acquisition activities had been carried out using the money allocated from the budget in the year 2017 and the reason for the failure for the proper utilisation of money allocated in the years 2018 and 2019 was that Sri Lanka Cricket was controlled by two officers appointed as the Competent Authority by the Minister of Sports for 7 months in the year 2018 and 2 months in the year 2019 and due to the notification made by the Competent Authority that it was appropriate to function in relation to the new projects by the executive committee that would be appointed in the future.”

The Audit has asked the SLC to do a “systematic feasibility study before the commencement of the progressive activities of the project”. It recommends that SLC systematically decides institutional facilities, course subjects and syllabuses required for the establishment of the university.

“It is concluded that this University anticipated to initiate [sic] by Sri Lanka Cricket to accomplish a wide objective should be commenced by adopting systematic methodologies by conducting a substantial study and action should be taken to accomplish the anticipated objectives expeditiously,” the audit report reads.

Although the SLC claimed to have paid Rs. 25 million each to Malwathu Chapter and Gangarama Rajamaha Vihara as donations, only the donation to Malwathu Chapter has been made, it also reveals.

“As mentioned in the above reply, the Mahanayake Thero had been informed by a letter that it had been decided to donate only a sum of Rs. 25,000,000 for a project of the Malwathu Chapter and the amount of Rs. 25,000,000 approved by the Executive Committee to donate to the Gangarama Raja Maha Viharaya had not been mentioned in the letter,” the report reads.

According to the revelation made by the Mahanayake Thero, even though it had been declared that a sum of Rs. 25,000,000 would be donated to the Gangarama Raja Maha Viharaya, he had not been informed of such a thing in the letter sent to express appreciation after the land was provided.. This was recently questioned by the parliamentary watchdog Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).

The audit was carried out on the request of the Ministry of Sports after SLC attracted heavy criticism over several recent questionable transactions.