Audit Team Arrives at Kataragama Devalaya

 

A special team from the Auditor General’s Department arrived at the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya yesterday morning (February 5) under direct orders from the President, to carry out an audit of its head office.

Under the Vihara Devalaya Act, such audits should only take place upon the request of the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs. However, the Commissioner General was unaware of the audit until informed by the Basnayake Nilame of the Kataragama Maha Devalaya.

Sources indicate that the audit was prompted by a complaint from Chief Kapu Dhurandara Somipala Ratnayake of the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devalaya, and that the Presidential Secretariat had directed the action. A team from the Monaragala Audit Office, following instructions from the Auditor General, conducted the audit until the afternoon of February 5.

The investigation is related to allegations against the head priest of the Devalaya, who is accused of misappropriating a gold plate given to the temple by the wife of notorious underworld figure Angoda Lokka. However, staff at the temple told the audit team that the monthly allowances of priests, derived from temple offerings, are not subject to external audits.

Additionally, it was noted during the inquiry that all donations to the Basnayake Nilame’s office are publicly listed on the temple’s website.

Although the law requires that the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs authorize audits of this nature, it has been confirmed that he was neither consulted nor informed prior to the audit’s