A complaint has been lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), calling for an investigation into the allocation of Rs. 100 million in public funds to a conference hosted by a private television broadcaster in Sri Lanka, reportedly as part of a tourism promotion initiative.
The complaint was filed today (03) by the Social Media Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka Collective.
Responding to the allegations, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa stated at today's weekly Cabinet media briefing that the funds allocated to the private broadcaster did not come from government tax revenue but were provided by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
The 63rd General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) was held in Colombo, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also attending the event.
The reported allocation of Rs. 100 million to a private television broadcaster to facilitate the conference, as well as its associated meetings, musical events and recreational tour programmes, has sparked considerable public debate.
Questioning the basis for allocating such a substantial sum of public funds to a private broadcaster, the Association of Social Media Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka submitted a formal complaint to CIABOC today, requesting a thorough investigation into the matter.
