The Hon. Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana

Hon. Presiding Member, I wish to comment on the Opposition’s adjournment motion. Many Members have spoken already. [Expunged on the order of the Chair.] I believe Hon. Marikkar presented this motion around 11.30 a.m., referring to an account at the Homagama People’s Bank. A round trip to Homagama takes about 1 hour 36 minutes by road; he has had hours to go and check. I suspect he is instead searching for the person who fed him that false information. We expect him to return before we conclude and present the account number and details. Further, some former State Ministers and MPs who did business with “Potenshia” and drew monthly retainers are now the loudest—exceeding 70 decibels for hours. Prolonged exposure above 70 dB can impair hearing and cause psychological stress. I request that the Hon. Speaker arrange a hearing assessment for the parliamentary staff who must remain in the Chamber and endure this din. [Expunged on the order of the Chair.] These accusations are being levelled at a Government of only 500 days which, within that period, moved Sri Lanka up the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index from 121st to 107th out of 182 countries—an improvement of 14 places—by pursuing anti-corruption policies under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. That is why global institutions are engaging with and supporting Sri Lanka—because, for the first time, they see genuine leadership against corruption. In the past 500 days we have also turned many loss-making State-Owned Enterprises profitable. I table a list covering 52 entities, including Milco (Pvt.) Ltd., the Postal Department, and CHSC, showing how curbing corruption restored surpluses. That is why the Treasury now records record customs revenue, domestic revenue, and excise receipts. [Placed in the Library.] To accuse such a Government of a “coal scam” is absurd. We have filled an emptied Treasury by a trillion through anti-corruption measures. Recent independent surveys (e.g. Verité Research) show public support for the Government rising to around 65%, despite the Opposition’s noise. Let me present facts on coal tenders from 2009 to 2016. The Auditor General’s Department audit inquiry (about 100 pages) covers five tenders in that period. Frequently, when another supplier was selected, an inter-ministerial committee was set up and, after “responses,” the Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa returned the award to the earlier favoured company. In 2011, two ships could not be unloaded, causing a loss of about Rs. 400 million. Noble Resources International (Pvt.) Ltd. offered coal at USD 68/ton, yet an emergency spot purchase from the same company was made at USD 74/ton—causing a huge loss. Because coal ran out, from 28 September to 23 October 2011 the plant was shut for 25 days, costing about Rs. 3.5 billion. In September 2015 to August 2016, a serious irregularity occurred. Liberty Commodities’ penalty was drastically reduced during the period when Hon. Ajith P. Perera was State Minister of Power and Energy. A fine that should have been computed by dividing by 0.1 was, in effect, divided by 100, reducing a penalty of 1,000 to 100. The loss was about USD 15.8 million (around Rs. 5 billion). CEB and Lanka Coal Company are still litigating over this. From 2009 to 2019, 100% payments were released against Load Port Reports alone—even before coal arrived in Sri Lanka. The current Government has regularized this with competitive procurement and transparent processes. The Opposition’s pain is simply loss of access to a USD 150 million tender stream. Thank you.