AG’s Dept unions to sue Cabinet

All trade unions of the Auditor General’s Department have decided to take legal action against the Cabinet for spreading false rumours that the Audit Bill had been approved, thereby misleading the Auditor General’s Department, the media and the people.

The TUs arrived at the decision since the statement by the Government regarding the Audit Bill was an utter lie.

The Joint Audit Services Collective claimed yesterday that what the government has done is only to approve the amendments made to the Bill, by the Cabinet Sub-Committee.

“If the Draft Bill had been approved, it should be mentioned that a decision has been made to gazette the Draft Audit Bill. However, there is nothing like that,” Sri Lanka Audit Services stressed.

They claimed that the so-called Yahapalana Government has no intention whatsoever of getting the Audit Bill approved. What the government is doing instead is appointing Cabinet Sub-Committees and continuously misleading the people, they added.

The Cabinet approved the Audit Bill on 20 April 2015 and the authority to take required steps to gazette it and present it to Parliament was assigned to the Prime Minister’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake.

“However, 900 days have lapsed today and the Prime Minister’s Secretary, has not fulfilled his responsibility as a government official.

That is why the Cabinet has been able to continuously mislead the people regarding the Audit Bill, in this manner. Therefore, we will take legal action making the Cabinet the respondent,” co-Convener of the Joint Audit Services Collective, Attorney-at-Law K. N. M. Kumarasinghe said in a special statement to Ceylon Today.

Kumarasinghe added, “The statement made by Ministers, at the Cabinet press briefing held last Wednesday, was that the Audit Draft Bill was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday. This was totally false.

We have got to know that the Cabinet had approved only the amendments made by the Cabinet SubCommittee.