By The Pulseline News Desk
Millions of rupees donated under the widely publicised “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” initiative have remained entirely unused and continue to be held in a separate Treasury account, officials from the Auditor General’s Department have told the Committee on Public Finance (COPF), raising fresh questions about the initiative’s legal status and management.
The issue surfaced during a recent COPF meeting, where lawmakers sought clarification on the handling of donations collected following the launch of the government-backed rebuilding effort.
Committee Chairman Harsha de Silva challenged officials over the existence of what has commonly been referred to as the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund,” arguing that there appears to be no legally established fund despite public references to one.
“We have seen reports on the Rebuilding Sri Lanka fund, but to my knowledge, no such fund exists. Where have the donors’ funds been deposited, and how are they being audited?” de Silva asked during the proceedings.
Responding to the concerns, an official from the Auditor General’s Department explained that although the Cabinet had approved the initiative in 2025, the proposed fund was never formally established through the legal mechanisms required to create a statutory fund.
Instead, all donations received under the initiative were deposited into a dedicated account maintained by the General Treasury. “All the money that came in is currently held in a special Treasury account. Not a single cent has been used,” the official told the committee.
The Auditor General’s Department further confirmed that audit examinations had been carried out and that the balance in the account matched official records. According to the department, the funds remained untouched as of the most recent audit review.
The disclosure prompted renewed concerns among committee members about transparency, accountability and the purpose of maintaining idle donor contributions that were intended to support national recovery efforts.
De Silva stressed that describing the initiative as a “fund” could be misleading until the necessary legal framework is established.
“If it has not been legally constituted, it should not be referred to as a fund,” he noted, highlighting the need for greater clarity regarding the initiative’s governance structure.
The discussion also raised broader questions about why the donations have yet to be utilised. While information on contributors and donation amounts has been made publicly available through an official website, committee members questioned the prolonged delay in deploying the funds for rebuilding and development activities.
The revelations are likely to intensify calls for the government to clarify the future of the initiative and outline a clear mechanism for the management and eventual use of the contributions received from donors.
For now, however, officials maintain that every rupee donated under the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” initiative remains safely held in Treasury accounts, awaiting decisions on how the funds can be legally and appropriately utilised.
Leave a comment