The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 If the old method was wrong, why was it used? You are correct, Hon. Member. If something needs correction, it should be corrected. What I am saying is that up to now, the same process that existed is what this Government has continued. Therefore, as item number one, the same tender examination process has been followed. It is not a new one.

¶ 02 Second, two people who knew about this were there. I asked them about it. But since they are not in the House now, there is nothing to be done on that score. If the process that existed is relatively fair and correct—if there were no defects in the established process—then, Hon. Speaker, the only space to allege wrongdoing is whether the Minister interfered with the process. As you say, did he alter the process somewhere so it could be misused for corruption—meaning, for theft of money?

¶ 03 For example, in the key steps of this process: coal procurement goes through a tender. That tender is evaluated by Bid Evaluation Committees (BECs), then approved by High-level Procurement Committees (HLPCs). All of these bodies are comprised of government officials. Different names are used like BEC and HLPC. The High-level Procurement Committees and Bid Evaluation Committees approve; and only thereafter is the tender awarded by the Cabinet of Ministers. That is the process that existed. I will also speak to what happens after.

¶ 04 Hon. Speaker, after selecting a company, that company has its own shipment arrangements from the source country. At the port of loading, a test is done; if it passes, it is cleared to be shipped. The same happens in oil and in many imported commodities. You know, Hon. Speaker, that in international trade, even if the best is promised, sometimes the best does not arrive. Therefore, there is insurance and also reinsurance. Even if insured, if container seals are broken, significant damage can occur. Hence, rigorous, well-structured controls exist, including penalties if needed at various stages. Hon. Ravi Karunanayake knows this; I too know this from my time at the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation. Whether coal or anything else is shipped here, the controls are strict. After arrival, samples are checked again and then tested in a laboratory. That is the process. If those tests fail, globally accepted procedures prescribe what to do. Sri Lanka too follows them.

¶ 05 Coal imports are not new. When imported coal, oil, or milk powder fail quality standards, what must be done is internationally and domestically well established. So my question is: within the past 18 months, at what point did the Minister of Power change this established process?