Coal tender allegations blacken Govt. image

The cracks are beginning to show in a Government that came to power on a pledge to crackdown on bribery and corruption. 

The whispers began months ago that such pledges are falling by the wayside, first with questions over the release of over 300 containers from the Colombo port without following the due procedure. Then there were questions over the import of sugar and over the award of some tenders; but the one that is gaining traction now is the import of substandard coal which could potentially cause losses of billions of rupees to the country.

The coal was procured via tender for the Lakvijaya Power Plant from South Africa though an Indian agent Trident Chemphar Ltd., but samples on at least half of the 25 ship-loads have failed quality testing and there have been growing accusations of tender manipulation that has led to inferior quality coal being purchased. It is alleged that the tender conditions have been altered to accommodate the Indian company, which imported the South African coal and that the timeline for the tender had been shortened from 42 days to 21 to suit this particular company.

The inability to use the substandard coal has in turn led to the Cabinet giving the go-ahead for the emergency purchase of coal for the Lakvijaya power plant in a bid to avert a possible energy crisis in the months ahead.

In the middle of the controversy is the Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, who has been defending himself and the Government saying no wrongdoing has taken place, but as more information begins to unravel, it’s becoming clear that all is not right with the manner in which the coal stocks were procured.

The ruling National People’s Power (NPP) came to power with sky-high promises to crackdown on bribery and corruption, but hasn’t been exactly practicing what it preaches. There was the case of its first Speaker MP Asoka Ranwala. He lied about holding a PhD and when it was exposed in the media, he stepped down but remained in Parliament. Misleading the public about one’s educational qualification while contesting for public office is a punishable offence under the law, but no one in Government thinks that it’s serious enough to warrant a police investigation.  There are also allegations against the current Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne with a complaint pending before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). No one is holding their breath until some action is taken against them.

With regards to the container issue, a Select Committee has been appointed to look into the matter and report back to Parliament. That too after repeated requests by the Opposition as well as growing public pressure to hold an impartial inquiry.

The CIABOC and its Director General Ranga Dissanayake has been zealously pursuing allegations against those who served in past administrations and is catching quite a few of the small fish, but when the sharks in this Government are facing some serious allegations, it slows to act.

It’s true that Sri Lanka has improved marginally in the  latest Global Corruption Perceptions Index which is good news but that in no way means that the Government can turn its back when their own are under a cloud of suspicion.  Innocent until proven guilty should not be a convenient excuse when your own are suspected of wrongdoing while trashing all political opponents as thieves when a majority of the allegations against them remain unproven.

How the Government handles the allegations regarding the coal imports will show the public how serious it actually is about breaking from the past and establishing a clean administration. Or are the pledges only meant to take down political opponents while safeguarding wrongdoers within?