Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reassigned financial control of the National Audit Office (NAO) to the Treasury Secretary. The decision comes amid a prolonged leadership vacuum in the Auditor General’s office, which has undermined the country’s audit processes and brought parliamentary oversight to a standstill.
The Auditor General’s post has been vacant for nearly ten months, according to reports, disrupting the NAO’s core functions, including the issuance of audit reports, initiation of audit inquiries, and internal promotion activities. The vacancy has also halted the work of two critical parliamentary oversight bodies—the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA)—which rely on audit reports to investigate government spending and public sector performance.
Sri Lanka’s parliamentary Standing Orders explicitly require an Auditor General for COPE and COPA to function. With the post unfilled, these committees have been unable to proceed with investigations, leaving a significant gap in accountability mechanisms at a time when robust financial oversight is widely viewed as essential for governance stability.
The vacancy occurred after the retirement of W. P. C. Wickramaratne, Auditor General of the Government, on April 8 last year. Senior Deputy Auditor General Dharmapala Gammanpila was appointed as acting Auditor General from April 9, but his term ended on December 6, leaving the position unoccupied since then.
Gammanpila, who has served in the National Audit Office for over thirty years, remains the most senior officer in the institution. Despite his long service and experience, the absence of an official Auditor General has caused procedural disruptions that extend beyond the NAO itself, affecting the broader system of checks and balances.
The President’s decision to transfer financial control to the Treasury Secretary is aimed at ensuring continuity in the NAO’s operations during this leadership gap. However, it also raises questions about institutional independence and the balance of power between audit functions and executive financial management.
