Hon. (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, at the Adjournment today, I move:

¶ 02 “That whereas the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), established under Standing Order 120 of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, examines the accounts of State corporations and institutions wholly or partly funded by the Government, and of enterprises whose accounts are entrusted to the Government under written law; and whereas the Committee’s examinations have revealed various levels of corruption; and whereas the gravest issue has been that projects of national importance have become burdens to the country and impediments to development targets due to private gains or other unjustifiable reasons, despite the possibility of ensuring development benefits to the public through proper planning and goal orientation; this Hon. House urges that the findings in the Fourth Report of the Tenth Parliament adopted by the Committee on 23.09.2025 be given urgent attention and necessary action be taken expeditiously, including swift legal action against those giving wrongful directions, and appropriate remedies to prevent future occurrences.”

¶ 03 Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for this opportunity. There is a public perception that COPE merely summons an institution, scolds it, and sends it away. However, as we have proceeded with COPE, we have realized that COPE is a crucial committee to exercise the people’s sovereign financial oversight and to build fiscal discipline.

¶ 04 Accordingly, we proposed the Standing Orders amendment moments ago so that, based on the facts we uncover, COPE can ensure defined legal recourse against financial fraud and misuse.

¶ 05 As a Government, we place great faith in audit. For decades people spoke about fraud, corruption, waste and theft, which have harmed development and the people’s welfare. We believe society must unite to eradicate them, and audit must be strengthened in parallel with development measures.

¶ 06 There are 457 SOEs under COPE’s remit. We focus on strengthening their financial governance. Recent inquiries revealed common weaknesses. We have proposed to convene representatives of these SOEs to discuss key weaknesses and correct them. On the 2nd of next month at the Parliamentary Complex we will commence this process. COPE is not about berating; it is an institution that intervenes to build capacity and reform.

¶ 07 On selection, until now institutions were summoned somewhat randomly. We are introducing a more scientific selection model. We have already commenced written examinations across all 457 institutions, based on the Auditor General’s triannual reports, with deadlines for replies. We have informed all institutions in writing under the COPE letterhead.

¶ 08 We have also prepared an online assessment on structural governance. Using those scores and written submissions, COPE will determine which entities to summon for oral hearings.

¶ 09 We have completed full inquiries into 14 institutions and identified many issues. Frequently, entities act outside their establishing Acts or misinterpret provisions, resulting in misuse of public funds. For example, the Land Reform Commission (LRC) embarked on compost fertilizer production, a function not empowered under its Act. Matters such as misinterpretation of staff housing provisions to distribute and sell valuable land have occurred, acting ultra vires.

¶ 10 Many entities lack integrated plans; where plans exist, they are often outsourced and poorly understood. Rolling plans for the next five years, and derivative annual, operational and procurement plans are often absent. On 02 October, we will convene all to discuss these gaps.

¶ 11 Internal audit is weak, and coordination between internal audit and the Auditor General’s Department is inadequate. We aim to establish transparent mechanisms to strengthen internal audit and its linkage with the Auditor General.

¶ 12 Some SOEs appear to structure themselves to evade audit. For example, the Mahapola Trust Fund provided Rs. 500 million in grants and a Rs. 175 million loan to establish SLIT, but through agreements, SLIT has been moved beyond the Auditor General’s purview. Public funds and land built an institution; now its revenues service private debt with profits accruing to a private group. Such misuse must end.

¶ 13 We also discussed Lanka Transformers Ltd. (LTL). The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) holds 63% and a private entity 27%. A segment of LTL’s Board pledged LTL assets to obtain loans to form another private company to purchase the balance 27% shares, and then further diluted CEB’s 63%, subsequently claiming to be beyond the Auditor General’s scope. Public assets cannot be shielded from public audit.

¶ 14 Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt.) Ltd.: From 2007 planning began to double passenger capacity from 6 to 12 million; the agreement was signed only in 2017. Plans kept changing, incurring Rs. 1,672.8 million in rupees plus amounts in USD and JPY for designs and supervision, with projects incomplete or stalled. This wastage of public wealth must stop.

¶ 15 Some argue this demoralizes public servants. Those who perpetrated fraud and waste should indeed be discouraged and held to account. Honest officers who dedicate time, effort, and even personal resources for development must be encouraged. We will proceed with performance audits and environmental audits as well. The public entrusted us to build an efficient State free of fraud and waste; COPE is fully engaged in that task.

¶ 16 We urge all Opposition groups to discuss this matter constructively and contribute. Thank you.