ITN: MR's lawyers want audit clarified

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Lawyers watching former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's interests are to submit a special questionnaire to the Chief Internal Auditor of the Independent Television Network (ITN), Manjula Alagiyawanna, to clarify findings of an internal audit report, which is now the basis for a probe on large scale corruption linked to unpaid airtime for the former president during the 2014-2015 presidential campaign.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources, and Privileges (PRECIFAC), chaired by High Court Judge Padman Surasena, has called for a special meeting on November 5 to allow the submission of the questionnaire.

Gaimini Marapone PC, appearing for the former president has requested that the PRECIFAC permit a special meeting as there are many questions with regard to the internal audit report that needed clarification.

The second public hearing on the ITN's non-recovery of payments from Mahinda Rajapaksa for his TV advertising was held on October 29-30. The investigations will run into a third public hearing, scheduled for November 19. A key point highlighted by ITN's Chief Internal Auditor, Manjula Alagiyawanna, was the non-inclusion of 'promotional songs' that were broadcast during the campaign period in support of Rajapaksa's candidacy.

In response to Marapone's cross examination, Alagiyawanna, asserted that there was no method to ascertain the exact value of the 'promotional songs' though they were a significant component of Rajapaksa's on air propaganda material.

When questioned by the Sunday Observer, several advertising companies in Colombo involved in the production of campaign material, asserted that promotional songs with videos of the kind referred to in the investigation would be generally priced over Rs. 400,000. However, the amounts would differ from one media house to another, depending on packages on offer.

Following the PRECIFAC investigations into the non-recovery of payments from Rajapaksa for broadcast election campaign advertisements, the internal audit report concluded that the actual value of Rajapaksa's campaign advertisements stood at over Rs. 101 million.