by Ashanthi Warunasuriya
- Anoma Fonseka has been accused of violating the very policy the government promised to protect
- Anoma Fonseka has been accused of violating a circular issued by the Finance Ministry
- Mrs. Fonseka is also facing allegations over her involvement in the Senehasa children’s home
Anoma Fonseka
The government of good governance came to power with a mandate to crackdown on corruption and curb the misuse of state property and funds.
However Anoma Fonseka, wife of Minister Sarath Fonseka has been accused of violating the very policy the government promised to protect.
Anoma Fonseka was seen as a strong advocate of anti-corruption. After Fonseka was promoted to the rank of Field marshal, his wife Anoma Fonseka was appointed chairperson of the Ranaviru Seva Authority.
Anoma Fonseka has been accused of violating a circular issued by the Finance Ministry which had prohibited the chairpersons of all government institutions from exceeding the monthly lease amount of Rs.119,500 when purchasing a vehicle for their use under leasing contracts. However, it is said that Mrs. Fonseka has purchased a Mitsubishi Montero luxury jeep with a monthly leasing instalment of Rs.255,784, which is a clear violation of the rule.
She has obtained the approval for the leasing instalment by submitting an application to the procurement committee of the Defence Ministry.
The circular issued by the Finance Ministry has clearly specified the limit of funds that could be obtained to purchase motor vehicles for government officials. However, Mrs. Fonseka has obtained an excessive lease instalment to purchase this Mitsubishi Montero v98W XSR luxury jeep. The total value is said to be around 15 Million Rupees.
The leasing facility has been provided by The Finance Company situated at Vauxhall Street, Colombo 2. The Ranaviru Seva Authority has made all the payments on the transaction.
Mrs. Fonseka is also facing allegations over her involvement in the Senehasa children’s home. The children’s home does not come under the purview of the Raviru Seva Authority. However Mrs. Fonseka is said to be in control of the children’s home.
When queried, a spokeswoman at the RanaviruSeva Authority said that the Senehasa children’s home was a creation of Mrs. Fonseka. She said that therefore the Ranaviru Seva Authority is looking after its affairs. Even though there is no obstacle preventing Mrs. Fonseka from looking after the affairs of the children’s home, she does not have any legal authority to use the authority’s funds at her discretion.
The Senehasa Children’s home is operated by the Army under the purview of the Defence Ministry. Recently Mrs. Fonseka visited America for some work involving the Senehasa children’s home. For that she has claimed 1.6 Million rupees from the Ranaviru Seva Authority. This is a clear example of misusing state funds. The affairs of the military are decided by a committee headed by the President as the Defence Minister.
The Ranaviru Seva Authority has also been accused of nepotism with the recent recruitment of a Director who had not possessed the required qualifications.
The gazette notification on the post had been amended to make the recruitment valid. The contract time period runs from 2016. 3. 3 to 2017.3.10 but Mrs. Fonseka has directed the board to extend the period of office.
Attempts made by this newspaper to contact Mrs. Fonseka to obtain her response on these allegations proved futile.
Attempts made to contact the coordinating secretary of the Ranaviru Seva Authority D.D.S.U Alwis were also unsuccessful.