UNP unmasks MR over “unsolicited” deals

Friday, 14 March 2014 07:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Main Opposition says bulk of unsolicited project proposals under President’s ministries
$ 5 b worth of unsolicited contracts currently awarded by Govt.
Unsolicited contracts are norm rather than exception; total violation of regulations: Eran
Slams PBJ for attempts to undermine tender process for big projects
E01 cost Rs. 900 million/km; outer circular highway first phase costs Rs. 6.7 billion/km
45 projects being approved during 45 minute cabinet meetings: Eran

By Dharisha Bastians The main opposition United National Party yesterday fired salvo after salvo at what it called “astounding levels” of corruption in the State sector with the Government awarding contracts for mega projects to the tune of US$ 5 billion without a competitive bidding process. “Today contracts are where the corruption is,” said UNP National List MP Eran Wickramaratne, during an explosive press conference at Sirikotha yesterday. Wickramaratne came out all guns blazing against the Government, citing Ministry of Finance Circulars 444 and 444/1 which clearly stipulate that the Government should make no decisions on unsolicited proposals except with Cabinet approval in exceptional circumstances. “But unsolicited proposals are the norm rather than the exception today. This means that the Sri Lankan taxpayer is denied the benefit of companies competing for Government projects and quoting the best prices,” the UNP MP charged, saying every major highway, port and airport project currently underway were unsolicited bids that never involved the mandated tender process.

Shady internet casino company launching next month: Harsha

A dubious single shareholder company had been approved to commence online gaming in Sri Lanka, UNP MP Dr. Harsha De Silva said yesterday. Dr De Silva said that the company Oceanic Games would commence internet lotto in the country from April this year. “This company had a single shareholder who owned 100 shares. Another foreign buyer has invested in 100,000 shares in one day. We have concerns that this is not a legitimate operation,” the UNP MP charged. Dr. De Silva urged the Government to come clean on the project before it was permitted to launch on the internet in Sri Lanka, making it accessible to young people and internet users all over the country.

A bulk of the current projects comes under the ministerial portfolios held by the President, Wickramaratne noted. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Minister of Highways is seeking permission from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Minister of Finance – this is joke,” he said. “There is no end to the astounding corruption that is going on, and it is happening largely under the watch of the Cabinet of Ministers who are silent during the approval process,” he explained. He said Cabinet Ministers were claiming up to 45 projects were being approved by the Cabinet during meetings that lasted mere 45 minutes.

Wickramaratne said that with the powerful executive presidential system in place, cabinet government had lost its meaning. “The President and a small coterie of people around him make all the decisions,” the Opposition Legislator charged. Wickramaratne flayed Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera for his remark that the Government’s rigorous tender procedures make big projects impossible. The UNP MP warned that officials should cease and desist from sanctioning or paving the way for large scale corruption. “Some of these officials have already been taken before the court and admonished once. They will be held accountable before the courts again,” Wickramaratne charged. The UNP Legislator said it was prudent to question why the Government was so focused on building expressways when congestion was increasing on Sri Lankan roads every year. Only 4% of commuters used private vehicles, and expressways were being constructed solely for their benefit, he said. According to Wickramaratne, the Government was not prioritising the upgrade of mass transport systems because “expressways are where the money is”. He said the Southern Expressway had been constructed at about Rs. 900 million per kilometre for 96 kilometres and the cost per kilometre for the Katunayake Expressway had been double that amount, at Rs. 1.8 million/km. “But look at the cost per kilometre for the Kerawalapitiya-Kadawatha stretch of the Outer Circular Highway – Rs. 6.7 billion – 600 times what was spent on E01,” Wickremaratne said.