Corruption & Governance Reform

Hon. Ajith P. Perera identified Trident Chemphar Limited of India as the winner of a coal supply contract described as being awarded at a cut-rate price, with Panaurora (Pvt) Ltd of Rajagiriya serving as the local agent. He named five directors of the company — Anuradha Oshadhi Herath, Shanika Kumari, Hakmana Nandaloka Gimi, Sanath Jayasundara, and Rakhitha Rajapaksa — and called for a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry into the matter.

Dr. Hizbullah addressed the Minister regarding the administrative deregistration of approximately 350 Muslim social service and charitable organizations by the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs. He argued that no court order or legal decision had revoked the Department's registration authority, and that the Director could simply withdraw the deregistration letter to restore these organizations' functioning status without requiring new legislation or procedures. He cited the Sri Lanka Khateeb and Muazzin Welfare Organization — operational for nearly 30 years with around 10,000 members — as an example of an organization adversely affected, noting that deregistration had disrupted their banking and financial operations, and called on the Minister to direct the Department accordingly.

## Summary Dr. Hizbullah raised a question under Standing Order 27(2) to the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs regarding the mass deregistration of approximately 350 Islamic charitable organisations in 2019, which he states was carried out under a ministerial directive without specific investigations or individual findings against the organisations. He argued that these organisations had operated legally for decades, providing community services, cultural programmes, youth activities, and social harmony initiatives, and that their wholesale deregistration has caused significant hardship to the Muslim community and disrupted essential services. He contended that while individual organisations under suspicion could have been separately investigated, the blanket deregistration was undemocratic and unjust. He posed three questions to the Minister: whether the deregistration is acknowledged, whether steps will be taken to restore the registrations, and what specific measures have already been undertaken toward reinstatement.

## Summary Minister Anil Jayantha responded to an adjournment motion alleging corruption and irregularities in the 2025–2026 coal procurement process, systematically refuting all four allegations raised. He argued that procurement procedures set by the National Procurement Commission were fully followed, that the 2022 COPF/Auditor General guidance was adhered to, that contractual rather than informal mechanisms govern supplier selection, and that delivery timelines were met within agreed arrangements to clear a prior supplier's outstanding cargo. The Minister defended the contract management framework, explaining that quality variations are handled through pre-established penalty clauses and independent inspection by accredited firm Cotecna, and that penalties were applied where triggered. He cautioned that calls for premature contract cancellation were irresponsible, as they lacked a qualifying contractual basis and could expose the government to significant damages claims. He also rejected the Opposition's broader characterisation of systemic corruption, distinguishing off-specification penalties within contractual tolerances from the importation of genuinely substandard goods seen under previous administrations.

## Summary The speaker accused Opposition members of acting in the interests of a private company rather than the public, alleging they were being paid to advocate on behalf of a specific firm in parliamentary debates. She argued that tender awards should be based solely on meeting prescribed qualifications, pricing processes, and tender conditions, citing the President's acknowledgement that a tender was awarded to a company associated with Dilith Jayaweera as an example of a process-based outcome that raises no objection. The speaker called on the Opposition to fulfil its democratic mandate by offering genuine government scrutiny rather than conducting debates she characterised as commercially motivated. She concluded with a rebuke that such conduct undermines the Opposition's own legitimacy and brings parliamentary discourse into disrepute.

Speaking in defence of the government's position on an Opposition adjournment motion concerning a coal tender, Ms. Hemachandra argued that the Opposition had failed to identify any specific procedural irregularity, noting that no appeal had been lodged against the tender award and that quality-related shipment rejections do not in themselves constitute corruption. She challenged the Opposition's sole concrete allegation—made by Hon. Marikkar under parliamentary privilege—that funds connected to the deal were deposited in an account linked to a Minister's wife's mother at a Homagama bank, demanding that he either table supporting details (account number, sums, and dates) or refer the matter to the Bribery Commission, and criticising him for leaving the Chamber without doing so. She contrasted the current procurement process, conducted through a proper tender board determination, with past practice in which energy-sector contracts were awarded by Cabinet paper according to political preferences, which she argued was the historical source of corrupt commissions that inflated electricity tariffs. The approximately USD 150 million tender, she maintained, was conducted transparently, with contractual penalty clauses as the established safeguard against supplier non-compliance.

Minister Jayatissa defended the current government's coal procurement process for the Norochcholai (Lakvijaya) Power Plant, contrasting it with what he characterised as a pattern under the Rajapaksa administration of repeatedly cancelling tenders mid-process and awarding contracts by Cabinet paper to a single preferred supplier, Noble Resources International. He outlined the 2025 procurement cycle, noting that 26 suppliers registered, 10 submitted bids within the extended 28-day window, and no appeals were lodged during the designated appeal period—arguing this demonstrated procedural legitimacy accepted by bidders themselves. He defended the quality assurance framework, citing Load Port Reports as the standard initial acceptance mechanism and detailing a penalty regime that has yielded progressively higher recoveries across recent cycles (USD 4.54 million, USD 6.1 million, and USD 7.8 million respectively). The Minister also dismissed allegations concerning a family member's bank account as unsubstantiated, and issued a warning to Opposition figures to cooperate with ongoing CID and FCID investigations rather than evading summons.

## Summary Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri (opposition) tabled a letter from the Association of Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries of Sri Lanka to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, alleging that the Private Secretary to the State Minister of Lands and Irrigation has pressured Divisional Secretaries in land administration matters — citing this as evidence of the political interference the State Minister had publicly asked members to report. The member challenged the Government's handling of the substandard coal procurement controversy, arguing that low power generation outputs demonstrate coal quality issues regardless of test documentation, and that no fines have yet been collected from the supplier. He further accused the NPP Government of hypocrisy, contending that it has failed to prosecute past corruption cases despite campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, and that its conduct mirrors the behaviour it condemned in previous administrations. He demanded that the Government independently verify the bank account details raised in relation to Hon. Marikkar rather than placing that burden on the opposition, and concluded that the Government has failed to demonstrate the integrity it claimed upon assuming office.

## Summary Deputy Minister Watagala defended the government against Opposition allegations related to a coal procurement tender for the Lakvijaya power plant and a separate LPG tender, arguing that the current administration has strengthened procurement integrity by routing purchases through formal tender processes rather than Cabinet Memoranda, as he claims was the practice under previous governments. He challenged the factual basis of the motion itself, noting it cited an erroneous figure of 12.32 million metric tons of coal against a typical annual requirement of 1.5–2.25 million tons. The Deputy Minister demanded that the Opposition member substantiate specific allegations—including claims that money was deposited into the Minister's mother's bank account and that a court had found the Minister guilty—by producing an account number and court case number respectively, noting the member had made the assertions without tabling any evidence. He further asserted that the government does not interfere with CIABOC, the Attorney-General's Department, or the CID investigations, contrasting this with past practices of summoning law enforcement officials to political residences, and dismissed the broader Opposition motion as politically motivated.

Hon. Danushka Ranganath spoke in opposition to a postponement motion, defending the government's coal procurement process against allegations raised by the Opposition. He argued that the current tender process was conducted properly, attracting ten bidders — the highest number in the procurement's history — and contrasted this with multiple instances between 2009 and 2015 when previous governments bypassed tender procedures entirely. On coal quality concerns, he outlined the existing penalty framework, whereby shortfalls below 6,150 kcal/kg GCV attract either single or double penalties, and stated that these penalties are being enforced where applicable. He dismissed the Opposition's allegations as politically motivated, characterising their repeated motions — including on education reform and a no-confidence move against the Prime Minister — as attempts to obscure their own policy failures.