The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Considering issues of transparency and efficiency in fuel supply, procurement, and purchasing—particularly at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC)—I seek clarification on the following:

¶ 02 1. In the past 12 months, how many CPC fuel suppliers have been registered, and who are they? 2. In the past 12 months, has any supplier (new or existing) defaulted on delivery? If so, who and when? 3. What action was taken against such suppliers? 4. In the past 12 months, how many spot/short-term tenders and how many long-term contract procurements were undertaken, separately? 5. What technical and commercial evaluation criteria are used for these procurements? Can you provide a comparison with purchasing criteria in other countries? 6. During the validity of a term contract, has any decision been taken to award local tenders? If so, was it approved by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC)? Can a comparison of term contract prices vs. spot purchase prices be tabled? 7. For the three highest-priced deliveries in the past 12 months, how many bids were received, and who were the awarded suppliers? 8. At Sapugaskanda Refinery, in using Murban crude instead of Iranian Light, how have product yields, refining costs, and final prices changed? 9. Have there been instances where Cabinet-level procurement committee recommendations differed from technical evaluation committees? Is there any post-procurement audit mechanism for high-value fuel purchases, and can audit reports be tabled?

¶ 03 I raise this because a supplier awarded a term tender reportedly failed to perform, yet gained a spot tender at a higher price. I seek a clear explanation.