In a letter to H E the President, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has said that they believe the President has been misinformed by interested parties, particularly about the funds received by TISL and the work carried out during the last Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
“We have no doubt that the figures mentioned in the news item have been purposely distorted and submitted to Your Excellency and in no way do they reflect the correct position” the letter said.
Full text of the letter:
“In an interview with the President published in ‘The Hindu’ on 21.11.2010, reference had been made to Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) as follows:
“One NGO, Transparency International, its local chapter, spent [SL Rs] 109 million in 2009, and within one month, the election month, January [2010], it spent [SL Rs] 69 million. A government department won’t be able to spend so much! This is what they did – got involved in local politics. They want to change governments, they want to change leaders. They don’t worry about the repercussions…..”.
We are surprised by this statement made by Your Excellency and are convinced that Your Excellency has been misinformed by interested parties about TISL, particularly the funds received by TISL and the work carried out during the last Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. We have no doubt that the figures mentioned in the news item have been purposely distorted and submitted to Your Excellency and in no way do they reflect the correct position.
In 2009, TISL’s expenditure was only Rs 44 million and the figure of Rs. 109 million that is allegedly to have been spent by TISL in 2009 is inaccurate. In fact, the amount spent by TISL from 2004 for all its programmes till the end of 2009 is Rs. 155 million. During January 2010 the amount spent was Rs. 4.3 million. The amount spent by TISL for the entire election monitoring program in 2010 was Rs 6.4 million.
We did not receive any funds specifically for election monitoring nor did we receive any funds between December 2009 and February 2010.
TISL follows a policy of compliance with all laws and regulations of Sri Lanka, being fully transparent with its financial affairs with annual accounts compiled in compliance with Sri Lanka Accounting & Auditing Standards and audited by independent auditors. TISL accounts are available for review on our website.”
Article on THE HINDU: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/article903886.ece
Letter to THE HINDU:
Mr. N.Ram,
Editor in Chief,
The Hindu,
859-860 Anna Salai Road,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600002,
India.
Dear Mr. Ram,
INTERVIEW WITH HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA
Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) is appalled by the information published in your newspaper of 21.11.2010 referring to the funds received by TISL and allegations of anti government activities in the above mentioned interview.
The figures quoted are misleading and inaccurate. In 2009, TISL’s expenditure was only Rs 44 million and the figure of Rs. 109 million that is allegedly to have been spent by TISL in 2009 is inaccurate. In fact, the amount spent by TISL from 2004 till the end of 2009 is Rs. 155 million. During January 2010 the amount spent was Rs. 4.3 million. The amount spent by TISL on its election monitoring programs in 2010 was Rs 6.4 million.
We are rather surprised that as a reputed and responsible newspaper, these figures were not verified with us prior to publication.
Attached is a letter addressed to His Excellency on this subject which is self-explanatory.
We trust you will publish a suitable correction so that the readers are informed of the true facts.