News
|
||||
New
President checkmates CBK cheques A directive was given to advice the banks concerned about it after it was brought to President Rajapakse's attention that a vast amount of money had been drained away from the President's Fund just before Ms Kumaratunga relinquished office. According to sources at the Presidential Secretariat, one of the cheques which Kumaratunga had drawn is for a Non-Governmental Organisation where she is reported to have a stake. The amount is said to involve a very large sum of money and had been given "virtually over the counter". Another cheque, these sources added, had been given to a North Central Province politician purportedly for a project when she visited Anuradhapura for a farewell ceremony. The Sunday Times reliably learns that President Rajapakse will order an inquiry to ascertain the basis on which hurried cash payments were made from the President's Fund. An official said, "the funds are meant for urgent public needs. When a heart patient seeking specialized treatment abroad, he had to produce a plethora of documents. It takes months before such an application, made on humanitarian grounds, is approved. However, in the case of these massive giveaways, it has taken little or no time". |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
