JVP says CMC losing Rs 320 million from new contract for clearing garbage

Mayor denies any wrongdoing

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) had incurred a loss of Rs. 320 million from a contract awarded for collecting and transporting garbage, JVP Municipal Councilor Hemantha Weerakoon said yesterday.

Weerakoon said that garbage collection was done separately in several wards and when renewing the contracts, the CMC had awarded the tender to a company that had quoted a much higher price than previously.

“For example the previous contract to collect garbage in Ward No 4 was Rs. 118 million. The new contract is worth Rs. 197 million. This is an increase of 80 million rupees. The CMC is going to pay Rs. 105 million more to collect garbage in Ward No 3 and Rs.119 million more for collecting garbage in Ward No 2. The price of fuel has not gone up and the wages have not gone up, so why pay more?”

The JVP councilor said that the process of awarding contracts was riddled with malpractices.

In response the Mayor of Colombo, Rosy Senanayake said that the previous contract had been signed in 2017 and that it was not reasonable to expect the contractor to agree to the same amount due to cost factors.

Councillor Weerakoon said that no one would have objected to a reasonable increase, but there had been 100% increases in some cases.