Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage - Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment

The speech content provided is insufficient to produce a meaningful summary, as the speaker's recorded contribution consists only of the phrase "That is not relevant." No substantive argument, proposal, or policy position was articulated in this excerpt.

Minister Pannilage concluded his remarks by defending the current government's coal procurement process, asserting it followed national tender procedures with over ten competing firms at competitive prices, in contrast to previous administrations which COPE found had bypassed valid tender procedures. He cited specific historical instances of losses attributable to procurement failures — including a 24-day plant shutdown in 2011 costing an estimated Rs. 3,500 million and losses of Rs. 12,500 million in 2014–2015 — to challenge critics' credibility. The Minister outlined the government's broader energy strategy, targeting 70% renewable generation through expanded solar and wind capacity, given hydropower's diminishing headroom, with the stated goal of achieving energy security and avoiding future crises.

The Minister defended the current government's procurement process for coal supply, arguing that proper procedures were followed through the procurement commission, in contrast to 2022 when a tender was allegedly awarded to an unregistered company via Cabinet approval. He provided details on the Lanka Coal Company (Private) Limited, incorporated in 2008 under the Companies Act, with shareholding distributed among the Ceylon Electricity Board (60%), Treasury (20%), Ports Authority (10%), and Ceylon Shipping Corporation (10%). The Minister referenced COPE scrutiny of coal procurement for the Lakvijaya power plant, noting that Noble Resources Limited supplied over 4.5 million metric tons of coal between 2010 and 2015, and indicated he was about to outline findings from that examination.

This appears to be a very brief procedural interjection rather than a substantive speech. The Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment asked another Member to hold their question until the Minister had finished speaking, indicating an intention to address the question at the conclusion of his remarks.

## Summary Minister Pannilage delivered a government defence speech rejecting an Opposition no-confidence or censure motion concerning the procurement of coal, characterising it as politically motivated and built on factual errors. He argued that the tender specification changes cited by the Opposition occurred in 2023 under the previous government, not under the current NPP administration, and that those changes were beneficial, increasing registered suppliers from 10 to 26 and thereby enhancing competition. The Minister defended the procurement process as compliant with the national procurement framework, noting the tender was open for 28 days, and cited historical precedent for quality deviation penalties—referencing figures of US$4.54 million, US$6.1 million, and US$7.8 million in successive prior years—to argue that the approximately US$2.1 million in penalties imposed in the current tender reflects normal regulatory practice rather than mismanagement. He rejected Opposition claims that any losses would be passed on to electricity consumers, asserting the tender process remains ongoing and that penalty funds are recovered by the Ceylon Electricity Board.

The Minister clarified that the Bill does not require re-registration of cooperatives and voluntary organisations already registered under other legal frameworks, explicitly listing several exempted categories including Provincial Council institutions, Central Bank-regulated entities, licensed pawning institutions, and those governed by the Samurdhi and Agrarian Development laws. He stated the Bill's primary aim is to address unregistered and unlicensed lending businesses that currently operate without oversight and cause harm to customers. The Minister further noted that the legislation will introduce a regulatory framework and a formal complaints mechanism — previously absent from the sector — to enable grievance resolution and bring order to the lending industry.

## Summary Minister Pannilage introduced the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, which seeks to repeal and replace the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for the regulation and supervision of moneylending and microfinance businesses in Sri Lanka. He rebutted criticism that the Bill fails to protect customers, citing explicit consumer protection provisions stated in all three languages on the Bill's first page. The Minister provided historical context tracing Sri Lanka's community savings and credit mechanisms back to 1911, referencing the Grameen Bank model of "social collateral," and noted how the commercialisation of microfinance had led to widespread exploitation—particularly of women in the North and East—including predatory lending, excessive interest rates, and hundreds of recorded suicides. He outlined that the Bill would bring thousands of currently unregulated entities under a licensing and supervisory regime, while explicitly excluding institutions already governed by separate legislation, such as Provincial Council bodies, registered cooperatives, licensed pawning institutions, and Samurdhi programmes.