The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) expressed its strong displeasure due to the fact that the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Department of Sports Development came before the committee unprepared to answer queries raised..
This COPA, chaired by the State Minister of State, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, met yesterday (7) in Parliament to discuss the reports of the Auditor. General for the years 2020 and 2021 and the current performance of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Department of Sports Development.
The COPA expressed dismay after finding that the ministry and the sports development department had appeared before the committee unprepared.
When the officers were asked to clarify certain matters in the Auditor General’s report, they failed to respond properly, much to the dismay of the committee.
The Committee pointed out that these institutions were summoned to inquire about the sports in the country, and the officials were not prepared to answer. Because of this, the COPA decided to summon these two institutions again on October 20, 2023.
The committee mentioned that such a thing has not happened in the recent past during COPA meetings.
The committee observed that there was no national plan to promote sports and no proper records available regarding the spending of government funds.
Also, the committee was perturbed when the officials failed to answer simple questions such as the number of games included in the Olympics, Thus, the committee expressed its regret in this regard as well.
