Dr. Nalaka Godahewa rejects allegations on GRID rankings

COLOMBO (News1st): The chief of a management accountants body has hit back at critics who accused him of having ties to a body which ranked Sri Lanka ninth for its efforts in combatting COVID-19. The island nation had been given the ranking in the Global Response to Infectious Diseases (GRID) index, which had sourced details from a research published on the website of the Certified Management Accountants (CMA) in Australia. "In a research article the source is not just one. There is so much information that is used," Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, the chairman of the Sri Lankan chapter of the CMA said. Critics have accused Godahewa, a supporter of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, for playing a part in influencing the ranking, citing it as a move to facilitate the government in conducting the general election. "Sri Lanka has done well and these guys want to suppress this information," Godahewa told News1st on Sunday. He said that the research had only evaluated the manner in which the Sri Lankan leadership had responded to this situation. On Sunday former opposition lawmaker Ajith Perera also hit out at the government for attempting to exaggerate the success shown in combating the coronavirus. Perera said the index had been prepared sourcing details from a website www.healthreviewglobal.com, which he said had been launched on March 19 - the day on which nominations were accepted for the general election. "If such false remarks are made, it is not only Godahewa but also the entire health sector which is being inconvenienced as a result of this," the United National Party member said. Recently, Sri Lanka had been ranked 15th among the high-risk countries for COVID-19 by Deep Knowledge Group - a London based think tank, using details from several reliable outlets such as the world health organization.