Directors of the controversial Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation M.L.A.M. Hizbullah and his son Hiraz Hizbullah failed to appear before the hearing of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) informing the CoPE that they were engaged in a pre-scheduled visit of a foreign delegation.
The COPE had ordered the officials of the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka Hira Foundation and Bank of Ceylon (BOC) where 14 accounts related to the Campus had been opened and the Ministry of the Higher Education, to present themselves before the committee yesterday (17). However, only the officials of the BOC and the Ministry of Higher Education attended the hearing.
The Chief Accountant of the Higher Education Ministry informed the committee that the ministry had informed the officials of the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Ltd and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation regarding the COPE summons on September 12. However, they had notified them of their pre-scheduled foreign visit.
The COPE also raised the question of why the other officials of the aid institutions such as the Chief Accountant and legal officers had failed to attend the hearing.
“Had all the officials of these two institutions gone overseas with Hizbullah?” the COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti questioned.
Since the COPE did not get a satisfactory response, Handunnetti ordered the Higher Education Ministry to inform all the officials of the two institutions to appear before the committee on October 9 at 2.30 p.m with written submissions as to why they failed to comply with the order to attend yesterday’s hearing. Handunnetti also ordered Hizbullah and his son to be notified to submit a detailed report on their pre-scheduled foreign visit as well.
Higher Education Ministry officials failed to provide a satisfactory answer to Handunnetti’s question as to why it accepted Hizbullah’s proposal which was printed on a letter head of the Sri Lanka Parliament to establish the controversial education institute when Parliament had been dissolved at that time.
(Daily news)