Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, Feb 15 (Daily Mirror) – In the midst of controversy over USAID funding in Sri Lanka, the government has sought a report from the National NGO Secretariat in this regard, a Minister said yesterday.

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Daily Mirror yesterday he would fully deal with allegations over USAID funding in Sri Lanka, and for that, he sought a report from the NGO Secretariat which is operating under his Ministry.

The U.S. administration led by President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on foreign aid channelled through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Even setting aside generous support for Ukraine over the past several years, the U.S. is spending roughly $40 billion in foreign aid annually. That is more than the GDP of multiple U.S. states and accounts for four out of every 10 dollars in global humanitarian aid. Americans deserve transparency and accountability for every dollar we spend, especially when it is spent abroad instead of at home, according to a statement from the US State Department.

Following the decision, the projects worth Rs.21 billion, operated by the organisations registered with the NGO Secretariat came to an end. However, there is no official report about money spent through the NGOs which operate outside the NGO Secretariat. There are 625 active NGOs registered with the Secretariat. Besides, there are numerous other NGOs registered under the Companies Act.

The U.S. government, through USAID, provided US $46 million to the FAO to address Sri Lanka’s fertilizer crisis in 2023. It also provided humanitarian assistance during the economic crisis.

However, there are now allegations that findings have also been channelled for controversial projects such as the promotion of LGBTQ rights and to chase out former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office. Local groups are up in arms against USAID over such allegations.

The organisation called ‘Coalition Against Partition of Sri Lanka’ is leading protests.