The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka

Jathika Jana balawegaya· National List· 3 March 2025 ·Oral question: Oral Question: TRIAD Company Payment to Urban Development Authority (Q.7-Q.8/2025)

Public FinanceCorruption & Governance Reform

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The Minister tabled a written answer regarding an Urban Development Authority payment, confirming that while the then Chairman had approved it subject to procurement approval, there was no evidence such approval was obtained. The answer stated that procurement authority lay with the Procurement Committee and that the activity was linked to instructions for attractive opening ceremonies and publicity for leasing commercial constructions in Colombo. It further noted that failure to follow procurement procedures prevented open bidding by state and private entities and the selection of the most beneficial option for the government.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I table the answer to that question.

¶ 02 - Answer tabled:

¶ 03 (a) (i) Yes. The Urban Development Authority has confirmed it. (ii) Although the then Chairman of the Authority approved the payment subject to obtaining procurement approval, there is no evidence that procurement approval had in fact been obtained. (iii) As per the financial procedure, this authority lies with the Procurement Committee. (iv) The Urban Development Authority has stated that actions were taken in line with the instructions issued at that time to conduct the opening ceremonies of development projects in the Colombo area attractively, and that publicity for leasing these commercial constructions was also expected through this. (v) If procurement procedures had been followed, both the state and private sectors would have had the opportunity to bid, allowing selection of the institution most beneficial to the government. However, by not following procurement procedures, that opportunity was missed. (b) Not applicable.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Monday, 3 March 2025 ·No. 1742268353096939 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 3 March 2025. No. 1742268353096939. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/18348