• Call for formal inquiry 

Former Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and former Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe have rejected allegations arising from a special audit into fuel and vehicle use in the Eighth and Ninth Parliaments, with both of them calling for a formal inquiry into the matter and saying that they are ready to respond to any investigation.When contacted by The Daily Morning, Abeywardena, against whom allegations have been levelled in the audit, said the claims first emerged about a year and a half ago but that the Government had still failed to conduct an investigation or take legal action.

“That is because there is no acceptable ground for the Government to do something like that,” he said. He said the Speaker is provided with several official vehicles, including a bulletproof security vehicle, and that the fuel used by those vehicles is handled by the drivers. “I was given five vehicles. I was also given a security vehicle – a bulletproof vehicle. That vehicle does only a small number of kilometres per litre of fuel. All of that was handled by the drivers,” Abeywardena said, adding that he had not personally signed the relevant fuel orders except on one or two occasions in Matara, adding that such approvals were always granted by Parliamentary officials in Colombo. Speaking further, he said: “The audit report has the vehicle numbers and says how many vehicles there were. Then, it has added the fuel used by all those vehicles together. So, someone looking at it would think that it is a huge amount. However, the vehicles and amounts of fuel used for each of them should have been listed separately. The Police vehicle that travelled behind me was also included there. The Police provided the vehicle and officers, but the fuel had to be obtained through Parliament. That is still how it is done today.” Abeywardena also said that he is prepared to answer the allegations through any inquiry.

Rajapakshe also rejected the allegations, saying that all expenditure had been incurred within the law and that Parliamentary officials had followed the required procedures. “Nothing was done outside the law. Everything was done legally. Parliament’s Audit Division reviews such expenditure every year and officials wouldn’t engage in any wrongdoing. We didn’t have time to check how much fuel was being used for our vehicles. Parliamentary officials always carry out these things properly. They would never do something wrong,” he said. He further said that he did not accept the relevant audit report`s findings and alleged that some relevant individuals had been left out. “This is a process of repeatedly creating a narrative in society targeting me and the former Speaker.”

The Secretary-General of Parliament, attorney Kushani Rohanadheera was not available for comment.

The special audit covering the Eighth and Ninth Parliaments examined fuel allocations, vehicle privileges and related expenditure involving senior Parliamentary positions, including the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Chairperson of Committees and the Secretary-General. The audit found that there had been no effective limit on the Speaker’s fuel entitlement.