The Hon. Mujibur Rahuman
Mujibur Rahuman criticized the Government for not securing the Minister’s resignation over a reported Rs. 22 billion loss linked to substandard coal, arguing that the public would ultimately bear the cost through Treasury funds, tariffs, and litigation. He contrasted this with past ministerial resignations over allegations and accused the Government of failing to uphold its promised political standards. He also alleged undue influence by the COPE Chair on the Auditor General’s Department during preparation of the report and requested the Speaker to investigate, while commending the Department for issuing the report despite pressure.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, we expected the Minister to announce his resignation today, given a Rs. 22 billion loss. If there were any shame, he would have stepped down. In previous governments, when allegations arose, Ministers resigned — Ravi Karunanayake, Tilak Marapana. You promised a better political culture, but now defend a Minister despite the President himself acknowledging substandard coal and losses, saying recovery would be from three sides — Treasury, the public, and through cases. Treasury funds are taxpayers’ money; increasing tariffs burdens the public; litigation costs public money too. In the end, the people pay from all sides.
¶ 02 Another issue: the President delayed appointing the Auditor General for nine months. We warned they were waiting to appoint someone pliant. The COPE Chair has been influencing the Auditor General’s Department during the preparation of this report; there are CCTV recordings. We ask the Hon. Speaker to inquire. Despite pressure, the Department issued this report — we thank them.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 10 April 2026 ·No. 23479 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/6145
Cite as: The Hon. Mujibur Rahuman. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 10 April 2026. No. 23479. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/6145