During the COPE proceedings, it was disclosed that a single lawyer had been paid Rs. 600,000 to appear in one of these cases. The Committee also learned that the court had ordered the reinstatement of the Finance Director, with all arrears of salaries and allowances to be paid.
However, officials informed the Committee that the Authority has since filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, and legal proceedings are currently underway.
COPE members, expressing concern over the matter, stated that actions taken during this period appear to have been influenced by personal interests, resulting in the misuse of public funds.
The matter was discussed when the COPE Committee met in Parliament on the 8th to examine the Auditor General’s reports for 2022 and 2023, as well as CIDA’s current performance.
Additionally, the Committee observed that although an engineering estimate of Rs. 5.59 million had been prepared for the repair of the Authority’s main building roof, the estimate had not been approved by a qualified engineer.
Officials present explained that the Authority faced financial difficulties at the time and was unable to secure a suitable contractor. However, COPE emphasized that even if a contractor had to be found for a lower amount, the work should have been carried out as it was essential.
