According to a recent report issued by the National Audit Office, it has been recommended that the losses incurred by the government due to exhibitions and musical shows conducted by the National Youth Services Council, at a cost of Rs. 538.79 million during the August 2024 presidential election period, should be recovered from the relevant officials.
The report also recommends that disciplinary and legal action be taken against officials who acted in violation of government procurement guidelines, regulations, and rules.
These recommendations were made in a special audit report on the regularity, effectiveness, and alignment with the Council’s primary objectives of six programs conducted by the National Youth Services Council under the theme of “Relieving Youth Distress” from January to August 2024.
During the eight months from January to August 2024—the pre-presidential election period—the following programs were conducted to relieve youth distress: Smart Youth New Year Festival, National Youth Vesak Festival, National Youth Poson Zone, Youth Gathering, 31st Night Youth Celebration, and Smart Youth Exhibitions and Musical Shows.
A total of Rs. 538.79 million was spent on these activities, with Rs. 45.29 million still remaining to be paid.
The report states that none of these programs were related to the Council’s main priority activities, nor were they included in its annual action plan.
Of the Rs. 496.25 million approved for these programs by the Presidential Secretariat, only Rs. 74.20 million was received by the Council. Therefore, the remaining expenditure of Rs. 464.59 million was covered using the Council’s annual capital allocations.
Rs. 323.39 million, or 60% of the total expenditure, was spent on three Smart Youth exhibitions and 11 musical shows.
Furthermore, before obtaining cabinet approval for the Smart Youth program, Rs. 259.83 million was spent on three Smart Youth exhibitions and musical shows, as well as five additional musical events.
Although the Election Commission had notified that these exhibitions and musical shows should not be held after the nomination period for the August 2024 presidential election, the programs were held disregarding this notification, and according to the audit, one related file has also gone missing.
Rs. 12 million was spent on recording three Smart Youth exhibitions and musical shows, but these videos were not included in the Council’s inventory records and were not submitted for audit inspection as of February 28, 2025.
Overall, the audit states that procurement activities for these six programs were conducted without following government procurement guidelines.
For example, t-shirts and skins, puppet displays, pandal structures, and flag poles were purchased from suppliers nominated by the Director General, though not registered with the Council, as well as from a building materials supplier. It was observed that contracts were awarded to Youth Services (Private) Limited—a company administered by the Council—and subsequently sub-contracted.
The Council’s internal audit division confirmed during site visits that some of the so-called suppliers did not actually exist. It was also observed that payments were made for the same task more than once, and that payments were made for work that was not carried out. The Council’s own company, Sri Lanka Youth Services (Private) Limited, also added a 10% profit margin to the prices submitted for supply of materials, depriving the Council of potential savings that could have been achieved by procuring directly.
The main stated objectives of implementing these programs were to promote social harmony among the public, provide opportunities for the development of cultural and artistic skills, and prevent mental distress.
Despite claiming to have maximized youth participation, the report points out that opportunities for youth involvement were overlooked, as external parties were used to source physical and human resources for these programs.
A total of Rs. 29.31 million was spent on two “Youth Gathering” events held in Jaffna and Ampara, organized under the then-President’s patronage, but without clear objectives and with no budget allocation.
In addition, Rs. 14.91 million was spent on a program in Ampara, organized by an external party under the National Poson Zone program, without a proper provision.
For the “31st Night Youth Celebration” program, the Council spent Rs. 10.29 million without board approval. Of this, Rs. 5 million was provided to a Youth Social Convention on a refundable basis. However, the income from ticket sales (Rs. 6.86 million), beer stalls, and other sponsorships received for the event were not received by the Council.
Although there was no separate budget allocation for the National Vesak Festival, Rs. 61 million allocated by the Presidential Secretariat for the National Youth Mental Wellbeing Program was used to conduct this event.
