CEB HAS PURCHASED POWER ON ARBITRARY RATES DURING LAST FIVE YEARS : COPE CHAIRMAN

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has purchased power at their own discretion without any transparency for the last five years, the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) said yesterday. The COPE report which was submitted to Parliament by its Chairman JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said.

Purchases of power at rates ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs. 1000 million has been made per day from 70 generating points without determining prices in a proper manner.

The COPE had recommended that there should be a method of determining prices through computer software but such a system has not been implemented during the last five years. “Though software has been purchased it has not been used,” the report added.

The report revealed that State Pharmaceuticals Corporation has possessed a stock of substandard and expired medicines worth Rs 104.4 million as of April 2018. The report said some types of medicines are imported in abundance because requirements have not been assessed properly.

COPE report had come up with another staggering disclosure where the General Manager of People’s Bank had been paid a salary of Rs 2.1 million in 2018 though he had been recruited on a contract basis. Also, it was revealed that Rs.75 million had been paid to the then Chairman as salary arrears. The approval has been sought to extend the service of the present chairman. The COPE has however recommended not to give a service extension. The report revealed that a stock of Kerosene, mixed with diesel, was found when transported from the oil storage of Muthurajawela to Kurunegala. Investigations have revealed that the mixing was done on December 31 2017 at Minuwangoda. Some 33,000 litres of diesel have been contaminated by this act. The driver and the assistant who was held in connection with the incident have been bailed out.

Meanwhile COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti while presenting the report suggested that judicial officers including representatives of Attorney General be allowed to witness the committee proceedings so that the investigations become real evidence. Such an exercise he said could expiate action on anyone who is found guilty of any offence. He said such a practice is being carried out in countries such as Pakistan.