What happened to the Rs.100Mn WB grant taken under P.B.’s watch?: Wijeyadasa

• Grant provided to open  Parliament proceedings, COPE and COPA live to the media

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera  

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe revealed yesterday  that a Rs. 100 million grant provided by the World Bank to open  Parliament proceedings, COPE and COPA live to the media were credited to  the Treasury by P.B. Jayasundara but what happened to the funds was yet  to be known.   

He told Parliament that in 2006 and 2007 when he was the  Chairman of the COPE, World Bank provided Rs. 100 million in  appreciation for the work done by the COPE.  

He said the World Bank granted Rs. 100 million to ensure  transparency of the COPE, COPA and Parliament proceedings and the task  could not be completed at that time as the funds were credited to the  Treasury by P.B. Jayasundara. “We still do not know what happened to the  funds,” he said.  

He said he was happy that the COPE and COPA meetings have been opened to media, at least later.