The Election Commission (EC) has taken up alleged misuse by Local Government bodies of public funds in the run-up to the LG polls with the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who is also the leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), serves as Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister.
Authoritative sources said that the EC had advised Ministry Secretary Neil Bandara Hapuhinna to take tangible action in this regard.
Polls monitoring group PAFFREL, in a letter dated January 09, urged EC Chairman Nimal Punchihewa to prevent those at the helm of LG bodies misusing funds to promote them and political parties they represented.
Ministry sources confirmed the EC has raised the issue at hand with them. Over 82,000 candidates are in the fray for 340 local authorities, scheduled for March 09.
Each LG body has its own fund for utilization for projects. Asked whether the government has released funds to these bodies, after the declaration of March 09 LG polls, sources said that there was no basis for the accusation. LG bodies have their own revenue sources with annual taxes being the primary source of income, sources said, adding, however, that there had been instances of the government providing funds for them, in the past. (SF)