I ONLY RECOMMENDED PAYMENT OF USD 11MN AFTER MINISTER APPROVED IT- FMR. SEC. TO MINISTRY

Former Secretary to the Ministry of Rural Economic Development, Renuka Ekanayake, had recommended the payment of US $ 11 million to Wellard Rural Exports Pvt. Ltd in April 2018, only after having obtained the approval of former line minister P. Harrison. This was revealed at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) to investigate corruption of the current administration last Friday.

Ekanayake said that she had received information that those who took part, so far, in the subsidised scheme to introduce high-yielding imported pregnant cows were facing many difficulties and that a number of course corrections had to be made on the project.

By March of 2018, around 5000 cows had been imported to Sri Lanka from Wellard Rural Exports. Discussions were ongoing on the continuation of the project, and the importation of the rest of the cows.

By January, 2018, the ministry’s own internal audit department had presented a report identifying a number of serious issues regarding the project. Among them were issues faced by the farmers who were struggling financially and the imported cows who had failed to deliver the expected amount of milk, the introduction of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) which is an unknown disease in the country and the falsification of facts by the project management team.

“So I conveyed all this information to the relevant officials and the minister in detail. By this time a committee entrusted with evaluating the first stage, had recommended that we go ahead with the project. I forwarded this report with my reservations to the officials in charge of the project as well as the minister. I was instructed to go ahead,” she said.

It was earlier revealed that the external resources department of the Treasury had paid Rs. 1.3 billion (USD 8.3 million) to Wellard Rural Exports Pvt. Ltd, on May 08, 2018, as an advance payment to import 15,000 milch cows though there was no allocation of funds for the purpose in the 2018 budget.

The above mentioned committee appointed to evaluate the phase 01 of the subsidised scheme to introduce high yielding imported cows in 2017 and implement phase II of the project, had not taken into consideration whether the animals suffered from serious diseases, chairman of the committee, Prof Hewa Waduge Cyril told the Presidential Commission last month.

Among them were issues faced by the farmers who were struggling financially and the imported cows who had failed to deliver the expected amount of milk, the introduction of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) which is an unknown disease in the country