The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 No, no. I was not allowed to speak, was I?

¶ 02 In the first six months of 2024 it was Rs. 27 billion. In the first six months of 2025 it is Rs. 17 billion. This has decreased by several billions of rupees.

¶ 03 I also wish to say this: when this Government came to power, Octane 92 petrol was Rs. 318 per litre; under your Government it was Rs. 293. Now what has happened? There was only a Rs. 40 reduction at the pump, while Brent and the Singapore price indices have fallen by a much larger margin.

¶ 04 Hon. Presiding Member, Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe and others spoke at length about VAT. Nothing has really affected VAT; everything continues as it is. We were told the proceeds go into Kanchana’s pocket, into someone else’s pocket, BOO—those claims. Now you cannot answer those. Likewise, you are not publishing the pricing formula monthly; it is being hidden. There is also the matter of DOs. Particularly, windfall benefits are being given to cronies.

¶ 05 I also wish to say this to the current Chairman of the Paddy Marketing Board: during the time he served as a manager, about 20 loads of fuel went missing at the port. On this, Hon. Ranwala herself requested an investigation. Further, Dr. Neththikumara has posted on Facebook that lubricants have been sold to cronies at a discount for four days compared to the price sold to state institutions, causing a loss of Rs. 168 million. I table this note.

¶ 06 Although Rs. 71 million should have been received, they matched the government sale price and sold at Rs. 55 million, causing a Rs. 16 million loss. Please investigate this. Thieves who came saying they would fix these institutions are the ones who have arrived. That is the problem. Now they have regrouped and are doing the same again.

¶ 07 Another point: the President said, “Corruption is dangerous; failing to prevent corruption is even more dangerous.” Yet, more corrupt officials have been appointed.

¶ 08 In the Auditor General’s Report 2023, it is very clear that for delayed delivery of fuel, misplacement, and off-specification stocks, US$ 4.39 million—Rs. 164 million—should be recovered from suppliers. However, action has still not been taken. In aggregate, even just from Vitol a very large sum is due. They have been unable to recover it. Also, due to short landing by shipping companies, the outturn loss is US$ 27 million. That means these companies must pay about Rs. 7.8 billion—nearly Rs. 800 crores—to the CPC.