Rebel ministers expected to present alternative plan

Economic crisis:

Gammanpila says Cabinet ignored warning given on 15 Feb. last year

by Shamindra Ferdinando

A section of the SLPP-led ruling coalition is planning to unveil an alternative plan on 02 March spelling out how to overcome the current financial crisis.

Among the 11 parties that have pledged to join the group are the SLFP with 14 members in Parliament, the National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) with six and one member, respectively. The grouping comprises about 25 lawmakers.

Political sources said that those who backed Ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila resorting to legal action against the Yugadanavi deal now before the Supreme Court, were behind the latest move as well. They are in the process of finalising the set of proposals against the backdrop of simmering disagreements with the SLPP leadership.

The SLFP backed the court action but refrained from joining the dissident ministers in filing fundamental rights violation petitions against the agreement with the US-based New Fortress Energy.

Addressing the PHU gathering at Avissawella on Sunday (20), Energy Minister Gammanpila said that they were ready to present a strategy. The former JHU stalwart said that the country wouldn’t have been in this mess if the cabinet of ministers took his advice serious. According to him, the warning was issued over a year ago on Feb 15 as regards the impending fuel shortages. The Minister said that he subsequently announced the imminent crisis when deficit in USD was announced on June 12, 2021 in response to SLPP General Secretary and Attorney-at-Law Sagara Kariyawasam’s criticism in the wake of him announcing the revision of fuel prices.

“Instead of taking remedial measures, a section of the SLPP lambasted me”, Minister Gammanpila said, squarely placing the blame on the SLPP for the unprecedented crisis.

Minister Gammanpila revealed that again he and Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena warned the government parliamentary group of the extremely dicey situation on July 17, 2021 at a meeting held at the President’s House. The Colombo District lawmaker said that when they pointed out the urgent need to take the public into confidence, a minister declared that the issue would be settled in just weeks. Refusing to name the minister concerned under any circumstances, Gammanpila quoted his ministerial colleague as having declared that the USD crisis was due to fraud committed by officers of two major state-owned banks. The parliamentary group cheered the minister thereby the issues raised by him and Minister Gunawardena were suppressed, MP Gammanpila said.

Minister Gammanpila said that the banking setup lacked the financial strength to meet the USD demand to procure fuel. The minister disclosed that recently a ship that had been compelled to wait 11 days in local waters to discharge fuel threatened to leave unless the government made the payment.

Minister Gammanpila said that the crisis hadn’t been caused by the current dispensation. Successive governments that had spent extravagantly much more than the foreign earnings should take the blame for the current turmoil.

The country was paying a huge price for uncontrolled expenditure over the past several decades and their group within the government would strive to change the direction of the government.