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| Sunday, 18 May 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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The DLB controversy : President JR, Mahapola funded lottery in 1983 by Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria The President's attempt to take over the Development Lottery is now at the forefront of the news creating legal and constitutional issues. I do not wish to comment on the legality of her action in asking for a Gazette notification without first consulting the Prime Minister. As a lawyer, my own view is that if cohabitation is still her policy, then consultation was a prerequisite. I must clear some misconceptions. Firstly the lottery was not started to supply monies or augment the President's Fund. This was never the intention. It just happened because the lottery was a success and President Jayewardene was willing to give part of the start up capital from the President's Fund. The establishment of the President's Fund was an idea solely of President Jayewardene's. It was not a bureaucratic proposal. He also set it up as an Act of Parliament and created a Board to run it and included the Leader of the Opposition as a Board Member. But the President's Fund had no money. All this is found in the Hansard when the President's Fund legislation was passed in Parliament. I can remember the cyclone that hit Batticaloa region in 1978. I was with some Ambassadors from donor countries at an official reception when we got the news about the cyclone. It was the first civil disaster for the newly elected J.R. Jayewardene government. The next morning I telephoned the President and asked him whether our Ministry could make a public announcement to collect funds for the President's Fund to use for cyclone assistance in Batticaloa. The President asked me to consult Cabinet Secretary, Mr. G.V.P. Samarasinghe and if he agreed, to go ahead. I did so. Contributions started flowing in. The first contribution of Rs. one lakh (a lot of money at that time) came from a Chinese Restaurant owner in Colombo. Within one day I had collected over Rs. one million for the President's Fund. That is how the Fund got its first money. After that, it came mainly from the lottery. The President was too busy for me to get directions from him as to how to run the lottery. It was Minister Lalith Athulathmudali who helped and guided me the most. Apart from giving half of the start up capital, he chaired the Steering Committee that ran the lottery. He also suspended the Mahapola Lottery because he was now getting a half share of the profits from the Development Lottery. From the launch of the lottery in 1983 up to 1997 - a period of fourteen years - there was no change of departure from the profits of the lottery being divided equally between the President's Fund and the Mahapola Trust Fund. However, in 1997 Mrs. Kumaratunga as President enacted an Act of Parliament called the Development Lotteries Board Act No. 20 of 1997. There was no debate in Parliament about it. Section 11 of that Act says the Development Lotteries Board 'Shall remit the profits of the lottery to the President's Fund to enable the President's Fund to make contributions to the Mahapola Trust Fund.' One must assume that the contribution to the Mahapola Trust Fund should be fifty per cent of the profits as paid before. But strangely, from 1997, the Mahapola Trust has received only thirty per cent of the profits. The Attorney-General has also ruled that Mahapola Trust Fund is entitled to a fifty per cent share of the profits of the lottery. Hence, there is a legal and moral duty on the part of the President's Fund to give the Mahapola Trust Fund the shortfall of Rs. 450 million up to 2002 and from 2003 pay the Mahapola Trust Fund fifty per cent of the profits and not thirty per cent. The President need not worry about the profits of the lottery. The current Board of the lottery and its Chairman, Mr. J.K. Fernando are doing an excellent job. They have increased the profits for the years 2002 and 2003 - far in excess to what the lottery got when her government was in charge! Speaking of cohabitation, the President must honour the commitment to the co-partner of the lottery - the Mahapola Trust Fund - and pay it the shortfall for 1997-2002 and then continue to pay the fifty per cent Mahapola is entitled to. |
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