Finance Ministry defends appointment of corporate chiefs to Ditwah Relief Fund
As Sri Lanka struggles to rebuild from Cyclone Ditwah the worst natural disaster in its modern history, a sum of Rs. 1.893 billion (around Rs1.9 billion) currently in the government’s newly created ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ fund comes under sharp scrutiny.
However, legal experts, civil society groups, and economic analysts caution that such a fund may bypass established law, weaken accountability, and repeat past financial controversies-even as the government insists it is crucial for accelerating national recovery.
A senior Finance Ministry official defended the mechanism, explaining that such emergency funds can be established with Cabinet approval through provisions set up under Public Finance Management rules, operated through the Treasury under Financial Regulations, and audited by the Auditor General.
“This is not illegal. Similar funds were created earlier through Presidential and ministerial directives with designated accounts,” the official said, noting that publicised bank details and auditing were intended to ensure transparency.
But experts dispute this justification. They argue that Sri Lanka already has a legally sanctioned path under Section 17 of the Disaster Management Act, which creates the National Council’s official disaster fund with strict requirements for accepting donations, managing expenditure, and ensuring accountability.
“Public finance cannot be placed under a body that is neither constitutional nor answerable to Parliament,” several legal specialists cautioned, describing such delegation as “repugnant to Articles 148 and 150 of the Constitution”.
The administration has simultaneously announced a vast recovery plan: President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will present a Rs. 500 billion supplementary estimate to Parliament in January 2026, while insurance companies, under Treasury direction and the Insurance Regulatory Commission, have begun fast-tracking payouts to affected households, businesses and properties.
The centre of growing controversy is the new Management Committee, composed of six officials and five Colombo-based corporate leaders, with prioritising recovery needs, allocating funds, and disbursing reconstruction money.
Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando defended this structure: “Private-public collaboration ensures accountability and unlocks international donations. It helps avoid the bureaucratic delays that stalled past recovery efforts.”
However civil society activists under the aegis of the Law and Society Trust, have issued a sharply worded statement expressing “strong concern” over what it calls an unprecedented move with far-reaching consequences.
The group argues that every private-sector member appointed is primarily obligated to maximise shareholder wealth, creating “an imminent and unavoidable conflict of interest” unless they resign from their corporate roles.
While corporate fundraising for relief is acceptable, it said, the committee’s sweeping authority over national reconstruction is dangerously mismatched with its commercial background.
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