US axes Lankan voter education funding amid controversy
The USAID has cancelled funding for a voter education program after the Sri Lankan Government raised objections and the island’s top defence official vowed to investigate organizations receiving grants to implement the project.
In an email to prospective applicants yesterday, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said the federal grant opportunity had been “deleted”. “The Sri Lanka USAID Colombo Office will no longer be accepting applications for this opportunity,” the email read.
In an interview with a daily newspaper yesterday, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed concerns about USAID announcing a funding opportunity titled ‘Election Support through Voter Education’ and called it an “attempt to undermine the Government of the host country”.
The Defence Secretary also vowed that all those receiving funds for the implementation of projects under the USAID grant program would be investigated. Amid a growing spat between the two countries, the issue was taken up extensively at the weekly Cabinet briefing on Thursday.
The Ministers decided that US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele Sison should be summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs over the funding program, Government Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.
The US Envoy had not been officially summoned, highly-placed sources at the Ministry of External Affairs said. However External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris had already met Ambassador Sison to discuss the issue, the sources added. The pair had also met over dinner on Thursday night, hosted by the Minister, they said.
The US Embassy declined to comment on the summoning of its Ambassador or the cancellation of the USAID program, but said the US Government had long partnered with civil society in Sri Lanka and many other parts of the world.
“In Sri Lanka our support for civil society focuses on local organisations that support human rights social services reconciliation and women and girls,” “As President Obama has said, the US has a ‘strong belief that the strength and success of all countries and all regions depends in part on protecting and supporting civil society,’” the Spokesperson added.
At least two out of three leading election monitoring bodies in Sri Lanka have regularly conducted voter education programs, an official associated with one of the monitoring agencies. The official, who wished to remain unnamed, said voter education programs had been carried out in different parts of the island since 2010. The issue had likely arisen due to bilateral tensions between the two countries over the US undue interferences in internal affairs of Sri Lanka and leading unwarranted actions against Sri Lanka in UN and not because of the nature of the programs for which funding was available, the official noted.
Tensions between Washington and Colombo have been running high after the US sponsored three consecutive resolutions calling for accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva due to geopolitics matters but not because of purely a Human Right issue which US overlook in other countries like Israel, and crime committed by US forces in Afghan, Iraq, Palestine, Libya and so on.
The Advertisement posted in USAID Sri Lanka website – http://www.usaid.gov/sri-lanka/partnership-opportunities
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA)
RFA#: RFA-383-14-00001
Issuance Date: June 18, 2014
Questions due by: July 1, 2014, 1700 hours, Colombo Time
Closing Date/Time: July 18, 2014, 1000 hours, Colombo Time
SUBJECT: Request for Applications (RFA) Number RFA-383-14-00001
Sri Lanka Elections Support through Voter Education (ESVE) program
The United States Agency for International Development in Sri Lanka (USAID/Sri Lanka) is seeking applications for a Cooperative Agreement from indigenous local organizations to implement the Sri Lanka Elections Support through Voter Education (ESVE) program.
Subject to the availability of funds, the United States (U.S.) Government intends to award one cooperative agreement under this RFA. USAID/Sri Lanka however, reserves the right not to enter into any awards. The award will be made in accordance with evaluation procedures provided in Section V.1. USAID intends to provide $579,000 in total USAID funding to cover a twenty four (24) month period.
The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring achievement of the program objectives. Please refer to the Program Description in Section I of this RFA for a complete statement of goals and expected results.
The RFA consists of this cover letter and the following:
- Section I, Funding Opportunity – Program Description
- Section II, Award Information
- Section III, Eligibility Information
- Section IV, Application and Submission Information
- Section V, Application Review Information
- Section VI, Award and Administration Information
- Section VII, Agency Contacts
- Section VIII, Other Information
- Attachment 1, Certifications and Assurances
- Attachment 2, Budget Template
To be eligible for an award, the applicant must provide all required information in its application, including the requirements found in all attachments. Applications that are submitted late, incomplete or are non-responsive will not be considered. Award will be made to the responsible applicant whose application best meets the requirements of this RFA and the evaluation criteria contained herein.
The Request for Applications (RFA) will be posted electronically via Grants.gov. This RFA and any future amendments can be downloaded from www.grants.gov. It is the responsibility of the prospective applicant to ensure that it has received the RFA and any future amendments from www.grants.gov. All interested parties are encouraged to register at www.grants.gov to receive automatic notification of amendments to this RFA. If you have difficulty accessing the RFA or its amendments at Grants.gov, please contact Mr. Saliya Navaratne at snavaratne@usaid.gov.
USAID/Sri Lanka requires that applications be submitted electronically (via e-mail). Please see Instructions Section IV.7 for additional details.
Issuance of this RFA does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an application. Further, USAID reserves the right to reject any or all applications received. In addition, final award of any resultant Cooperative Agreement will not be made until funds have been fully appropriated, allocated, and committed through internal USAID procedures. While it is anticipated that these procedures will be successfully completed, potential applicants are hereby notified of these requirements and conditions for award. All application preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s own expense.
All questions and requests for clarification must be received by July 1, 2014 no later than 1700 hours (Colombo time) and should be sent to the following email address: usaidsrilankaprocurement@usaid.gov with a copy to Saliya Navaratne, A & A Specialist, at snavaratne@usaid.gov. Applicants must not submit questions to any other USAID staff. Applicants should retain for their records one copy of all enclosures which accompany their application.
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