The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has expressed displeasure over officials of the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) appearing before the Committee without prior preparation.
According to a Parliament statement, the officials were summoned to discuss the Auditor General’s reports for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, as well as the department’s current performance.
However, as they were unprepared, the COPA committee sent them back with instructions to appear on a future date, after being duly informed and adequately prepared.
The incident occurred during a meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts held under the Chairmanship of MP Aravinda Senarath in Parliament on Monday (10 Mar).
During the meeting, the Committee inquired into the implementation of directives issued during previous meetings. In particular, the Auditor General had presented 25 observations regarding illegal vehicle registrations that had taken place before the integration with the Customs computer system.
The Committee expected a report detailing the investigations conducted on these matters and the disciplinary actions taken against the responsible officials. However, the Auditor General pointed out that such a report had not been submitted.
Although the officials present claimed that a report had been provided, the Auditor General stated that he had not received it. A copy of the purported report was tabled during the session, but upon examination, the Auditor General informed the Committee that it was entirely unsatisfactory.
As a result, the Committee conducted an extensive inquiry into the matter, but the officials failed to provide satisfactory responses. They stated that they did not possess the relevant information dating back.
In response, the Committee expressed strong dissatisfaction with the officials’ conduct and decided to summon the department again at a later date. The officials were also instructed to be thoroughly prepared when appearing before the committee on the next occasion. (Newswire)