An audit conducted by the Auditor General’s Department has revealed that many items worth nearly Rs.35 million were missing from the President’s House and the Media Division of the Presidential Secretariat.
The audit report said that no investigation has been done regarding any of the missing items till the date of audit.
According to an intimation made by a Senior Assistant Secretary to the President on November 18, 2019, a search conducted by the storekeeper of the President’s House has revealed that 61 items belonging to 35 inventory categories were missing, but no investigation has been conducted until March 2022.
Out of the 52 computers worth over Rs.10 million released from the 2015 to January 2020, only four computers have been returned and two of them were in unusable condition, the audit report said.
The report further said that out of 45 mobile phones and iPads worth Rs.3.4 million given to the officers attached to the Media Division during the same period, only 14 mobile phones and three iPads were returned but nine mobile phones and two iPads were not in working condition.
According to a report sent by engineers to the President’s Secretary regarding the items of the Media Division, a large number of items with a value of nearly Rs.35 million were missing from the Media Division.
Meanwhile, out of 104 laptops worth Rs.17 million only 26 laptops and two MacBook Air type laptops have been returned.
The audit report further stated that 12 items belonging to the President’s House in Katharagama and two television sets at the President’s House in Anuradhapura are missing.
No investigation had been conducted regarding any of these items till the date of audit.
56 arrested for barging in!
Meanwhile, the Colombo Central Crime Investigation Unit said that 56 suspects have been arrested for forcibly entering the President’s House in Fort and damaging and stealing its property.
Police said artistes, trade union activists and political activists are among those arrested.
A senior police officer said that investigations are underway to arrest 58 more people in connection with the investigations carried out in this regard.
