The Hon. S.M. Marikkar

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is true that with the current situation in the Middle East, a global oil and energy crisis has emerged. In that context, to curb domestic consumption the Government has increased fuel prices by Rs. 24. Yet those who promised “fuel at dock price” are now imposing over Rs. 128 per litre in taxes on petrol. If the Government had even a shred of sensitivity to the people, while fares and the price of basic foods and goods shoot up, it could at least have reduced taxes by about Rs. 70 to contain prices.

¶ 02 In recent days, a social media campaign from fake profiles said “Anura Kumara is our man; he gives relief.” Is this the relief? Slapping Rs. 128 in tax and then adding another Rs. 24 on top? If you truly cared for the people struggling across rural areas, you should have created a mechanism to reduce the price by Rs. 70.

¶ 03 They once yelled “Kanchana takes commissions; Mahinda is stealing; this one is a thief; that one is a thief.” Those who called all 225 MPs thieves should now look in the mirror and see who the thieves are.

¶ 04 The crisis is in the Middle East—in Iran, Dubai, Qatar and Israel. But where do we import coal from? South Africa via the Indian Ocean. The Middle East situation poses no risk to coal shipments. Under the contract, 25 coal vessels were to arrive by 22 April. Twelve are already delayed. Despite delays, due to extraordinary “affection” for the supplier, they rescheduled with a week’s grace. Even by 30 April, they cannot bring the 25 vessels. So they called an emergency procurement for five vessels.

¶ 05 In that emergency tender, they awarded to the second-ranked company at USD 142 per tonne. Granting this tender requires paying USD 30 more per tonne. For five vessels, that is an excess of USD 9 million. That is paid not from Punya Sri Kumara Jayakody’s house, nor from Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s, nor from Pelawatte’s petty cash—it is paid from the people’s taxes.

¶ 06 These are not my claims alone; these are answers given by officials to the Committee on Public Finance oversight. Where do these extra USD 9 million go? Into whose accounts?

¶ 07 Our farmers, workers, and fishers are in fuel queues. Three-wheeler drivers who pasted stickers “This time to Parliament” are now peeling them off and standing in queues. Uber drivers can’t operate. Tourism is collapsing due to the fuel crisis.

¶ 08 Ordinarily, about 1,500 metric tons of diesel per month were allocated for power generation. Because of this chaos, while people stand in fuel queues, diesel for power has jumped from 1,500 to 5,000 metric tons—an extra 3,500 MT—incurring much higher costs. These are statements made by the Acting Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation at yesterday’s committee.

¶ 09 A Government claiming “no corruption, no fraud, not a rupee stolen” has already caused losses from the first nine delayed vessels of Rs. 8,497 million at previous diesel rates; when adjusted for increased diesel usage, losses exceed Rs. 10,000 million for nine vessels, and approach Rs. 12,000 million for 12 vessels. Yet they give no answers. The Minister comes and tries to smear egg on the faces of 159 MPs. We hear that even the President steps in to protect his friend—going to Pelawatte against protests.

¶ 10 All 12 vessels are delayed. Demurrage must be charged. Yet, out of love for the company, not a single rupee in demurrage has been collected to date. For the first five vessels alone, USD 445,000 in demurrage should be levied; still uncollected.

¶ 11 No matter how many Facebook updates are posted, the ground reality is this: you can run a paid comments team at Rs. 50 a comment, but they can’t cast 200 votes a day. Reality has now struck.

¶ 12 The President said there is an “energy mafia.” He is right. There was a gas mafia; there was a fuel import mafia. But now it has transformed into a bigger mafia. They claimed “we have fuel for months; vessels are arriving.” In truth, the crude oil cargo due this month was cancelled; hence a tender on the 17th, now sourcing from India and Singapore. Malaysia has oil but refuses to sell. Russia is said to be “not possible.” Despite Minister Wijitha Herath’s talks with Russia, because we aligned with the US, Russia now says they cannot supply. So we try Algeria and the US. Prices from those sources are unknown.

¶ 13 Due to emergency procurements, we are paying an extra USD 9 million. Demurrage of USD 445,000 on the first delayed vessel(s) remains uncollected. The twelve delayed coal vessels have already caused losses exceeding Rs. 12,000 million, also uncollected. And yet saplings are replaced with flower plants and there are shopping trips for flowers during this crisis.

¶ 14 Let me conclude by recalling that when then-Minister Keheliya Rambukwella brought substandard medicines that cost lives, it was the Samagi Jana Balawegaya—not the JVP—that moved the no-confidence motion. The current Prime Minister, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, then an MP, said in Hansard:

¶ 15 “What I have to say is that if there remains even a little bit of conscience in the Minister and this Government, they should stand by the people and take decisions accordingly. This is not about politics or saving a government; this is about the lives of our people. If there is even a shred of conscience left, stand by the people and take decisions. With that request, I stop.”

¶ 16 Likewise, I say today: bring a no-confidence motion against this Minister over this fraud. Arjuna Ranatunga and Dhammika Ranatunga were not charged for stealing but for causing Rs. 800 million in losses to the State. Here, the public loss is many times greater. Do those who came here as “flower plants” have any conscience left to stop protecting this Minister?

¶ 17 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.