The Centre for Policy Alternatives, formed by NGO activist Dr. Paikyasothy Saravanamuttu, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the government to conduct an audit of status of Language Rights in government institutions.

The National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Ministry signed the MoU on behalf of the government.  

The initial phase of the programme has been named ‘Promoting Language Equality and Reconciliation at the National Level (PLERNL)’ and involves conducting a ‘comprehensive assessment of language policies in practice in government institutions.’

 Dr. Saravanamuttu’s Centre for Policy Alternatives, however, is previously alleged to have billed donors for workshops that were not held, and in some instances double billed for the same events and other allegations.

Therefore, the agreement between the government and the CPA has raised eyebrows of some in the political circles.  

They said the chequered history of the CPA would mar the intentions of the programme.

When contacted by Asian Mirror, a senior spokesman of the Ministry said they had no question over the credibility of the CPA, despite allegations.

He said Dr. Saravanamuttu even functioned as a member of the Consultative Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTFRM), formed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.