The Hon. Arjuna Sujeewa Senasinghe, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, I am pleased the Hon. Prime Minister is present. You were among people with zero tolerance for corruption; politics can change people — let us ensure it does not.

¶ 02 Norochcholai should produce 900 MW but these days it produces about 750 MW. At COPE, I charged that the Chair was not independent, had twice gone to the Auditor General’s Department and influenced. He speaks usually of public finance, but yesterday he did not. The Lanka Coal Company Chairman did not attend; when I asked why, the Chair tried to smooth it over. If the LCC Chairman is absent, whom do we question?

¶ 03 The Ministry Secretary, Prof. Hemapala, accepted that corruption occurred. The LCC Chairman said they detected substandard coal from the first ship and sought the Attorney-General’s advice on cancellation. We pointed out that certificates came from two non-accredited labs; real-time data proves production shortfalls. If 6,000+ kcal/kg coal attracts a premium, but you bring 4,000+ kcal/kg coal, you can get a ship for USD 2 million instead of USD 6 million — that’s the fraud: buying low-quality coal cheaply while paying high-quality prices. Norochcholai normally contributes 30–40% of generation; now it is around 15%. This pushes a 50% hike in bills and burdens people.

¶ 04 Appoint an independent COPE Chair. Stop trying to whitewash. This can cause a ripple effect, even Rs. 60–100 billion losses, industrial shutdowns and load-shedding. IMF, the Secretary, LCC officials all acknowledge issues. Investigate and protect the public. Thank you.