The Hon. (Dr.) Prasanna Gunasena

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, answers:

¶ 02 (a) (i) Comprehensive insurance coverage is provided for the recently procured 32-seat buses and luxury buses operating on expressways, while third-party insurance is provided for other buses. (ii) Under third-party coverage, the staff of the bus, including the conductor, are insured, and passengers receive a limited coverage. There is Rs. 2 million third-party coverage; therefore, it is sufficient. (iii) There is no need to obtain another coverage.

¶ 03 (b) (i) The number of technical staff at depots is not sufficient. (ii) Among depot staff, there are qualified technicians who completed full-time courses at the Ceylon German Technical Training Institute and NAITA, but overall numbers are insufficient. (iii) Recruitment is done per procedure based on NVQ Level 4. (iv) No such procedure exists to absorb trainees on a permanent basis after training.

¶ 04 (c) Not applicable.

¶ 05 On tyres/tubes: We must follow the prescribed procurement process. Whether domestic or foreign, we cannot single-source outside procurement rules. Even for card payments in SLTB—with all accounts at People’s Bank—we cannot award solely to People’s Bank without procurement, despite both being state entities. We will call procurement to secure best value to SLTB; once current tenders conclude, future procurements will follow due process.

¶ 06 On spare parts and engine sets: There are many categories of spares and multiple engine-set types. Current supplies are under existing awarded contracts within their term. Upon expiry, we will re-tender, evaluate bids on standards, price, supply continuity, and award accordingly. Integration of engine sets with existing bodies will be assessed under technical and procurement frameworks during future cycles.