Sri Lankan tsunami aid misappropriated - watchdog panel

From PAUL OATES

It's very hard not to be cynical when you see these reports. I wonder what happened to the billions sent to other countries in the region?
This is an excellent example of what happens when 'guilt' money is extracted from so called developed nations and given to so called developing nations. There is a very close parallel between this example and what will happen to any carbon credit money extracted from the 'developed' nations and given to the 'developing' nations.
No wonder the 'developing' nations don't want any independent monitoring of where the money goes. If they are worried about so called 'sovereignty' issues, why take the money in the first place? Since when did 'sovereignty' ever worry the leaders of these countries anyway when there was a quick, non accountable billion to be made?
_________________________
Sri Lankan tsunami aid misappropriated - watchdog panel
Article from: Agence France-Presse
December 27, 2009 07:45am

NEARLY $537 million in tsunami aid for Sri Lanka is unaccounted for and over $686 million has been spent on projects unrelated to the disaster, an anti-corruption watchdog says.
Berlin-based Transparency International has demanded an audit of the money received by the Sri Lankan government to help victims of the Asian tsunami which hit the island on December 26, 2004, killing 31,000 people.
The group's Sri Lankan chapter said on Saturday the public have a right to know how the aid money was spent, as the tropical nation marked the fifth anniversary of the tsunami.
The group alleged that out of $2.5 billion received for relief, $686.23 million was spent on projects unrelated to the disaster.
Another $536.68 million is missing, the group said.
"There is no precise evidence to explain the missing sum of $536.68 million," Transparency International said.
An "audit should be done by the government to explain the utilisation of the money received and the challenges faced," the group said.
A government official yesterday declined comment on the allegations, but Colombo has consistently rejected such accusations in the past.
An initial government audit in 2005 found that less than 13 per cent of the aid had been spent, but there has been no formal examination since, Transparency International said.