The bill related to the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” fund established to repair the damage caused by Cyclone Ditva is still being prepared and will take some time, said Leader of the House Minister Bimal Ratnayake.
The Minister pointed out that although the decisions taken by any government may be implemented at a practical level first, not all of those processes may be legally completed at that moment.
However, he said that the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” fund established to repair the damage caused by Cyclone Ditva is completely legal and that the current government is not a “clique of the nation that stole tsunami funds like the Rajapaksa’s”.
The Minister stated this in Parliament yesterday (10) while responding to a discussion that arose in the Parliamentary Finance Committee that a separate legal fund called Rebuilding Sri Lanka has not yet been established.
Minister Bimal Ratnayake said that the Finance Committee is spreading a huge misconception in society regarding the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund.
Rejecting criticism that the fund has not been officially established, he said that since such a fund has not been established, it is illegal and that certain groups are trying to intimidate government officials and get them to make statements.
Pointing out that even the existing consolidated fund in the country exists as a “Main Cashbook Account” or “Treasury General Account”, the Minister said that a large number of funds in the country have been created temporarily in this way in times of emergency.