The Hon. Ajith P. Perera

¶ 01 The subject Minister should answer during his speech. Why take my time? If my friend Hon. Sunil Watagala answers, I would welcome it—we have long been friends. But I still have regard for the Deputy Minister. I only heard that earlier speech a short while ago; if I receive more information, our position may change. You came to power to end corruption. Remember, during our tenure—when I served as Deputy Minister of Power and Renewable Energy—there was not a single case or allegation of corruption or theft. Parliament did not have cause to criticize our Ministry; rather, it appreciated it. The ongoing solar revolution operates on the strength of policies we introduced. You now tender because we introduced the tender framework in 2016 despite opposition from powerful interests. Because we implemented those policies, your Government today can tender for projects.

¶ 02 You claimed to be cleaner and better than us. Yet you are giving, without tender, a nationwide licence to EDOTCO—Dialog’s parent group’s company—to roll out towers. Licences without tender may be permissible, but how, then, do prices fall? Our friend, the head of digital in Sri Lanka, posts a photo saying consumer prices will drop due to this.