The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe

¶ 01 Hon. Member, your issue is clear. Our Ministry is receiving large numbers of complaints relating to all 4,986 lending co-operative societies. There are similar issues in Maharagama, Gampaha, Ukuwela where millions in deposits are not being repaid. Another grave issue is that while the Co-operative Development Department registers these societies, when deposits are misused, accountability is pushed back to the societies. There are legal gaps. Depositors face serious risk.

¶ 02 The Commissioner is acting within powers under the Co-operative law: appointing boards, managing through them, managing properties under Provincial Council law, and making payments to depositors to the extent possible. We will have to bring strong legal reforms. We have decided not to register any lending society under the Co-operative Development Department hereafter. In the past, some Governors in the North Central Province intervened to set up lending societies; funds sources are unclear; many such acts have been carried out misusing co-operatives.

¶ 03 As you said, the affected are mainly seniors who deposited their pensions, gratuities, EPF and ETF expecting interest. Justice must be done. We have paid special attention, commenced urgent inquiries and audits, and will take legal action against responsible officers and resolve issues expeditiously under our Ministry. There is no current legal framework sufficient to take this further; we act within existing provisions but will institute proper interventions going forward.