By Shamindra Ferdinando

Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila says the government hadn’t discussed the possibility of reducing fuel prices though there was a spate of statements regarding downward revision.

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader and attorney-at-law Gammanpila said so when The Island asked him whether the government had deliberated the issue at hand at the cabinet and the Cost of Living Committee following the increase in fuel prices on June 11. The PHU represented in Parliament by one lawmaker is a constituent of the ruling SLPP, the largest party in the Parliament with 116 seats. The SLPP parliamentary group consists of 145 members with the SLFP being the second largest group with 14-members.

Responding to another query, Colombo District lawmaker said that the cabinet and the SLPP Parliamentary group hadn’t discussed how to face the no-faith motion moved by the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) against him for the fuel price hike.

Party leaders on July 5 decided to debate and vote on the no faith motion on July 19 and 20th. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena presided the meeting.

Minister Gammanpila said that the Speaker Abeywardena should have rejected the SJB’s no-confidence motion on technical grounds.

Minister Gammanpila said that the Cost of Living Committee on June 09 decided to increase the fuel prices due to extremely grave financial situation that undermined the entire banking system. The PHU leader said that he was among several Ministers and State Ministers present on the occasion. Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa had been among them.

On the following day, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as the Finance Minister, in writing authorised the hike in fuel prices, MP Gammanpila said, adding that whatever various interested parties propagated the economic situation remained dicey.

Minister Gammanpila pointed out that the Presidential Media Division (PMD) in a statement dated June 13 set the record straight. The President’s Office admitted the financial crisis that had been caused by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) being in debt to the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank to the tune of Rs 737 bn.

Lawmaker Gammanpila said that contrary to numerous reports, claims and speculation, they hadn’t worked out a plan to bring down fuel prices or introduce a relief package so far.

Minister Gammanpila said that he was not worried at all about the SJB’s no-faith motion. The minister explained that in spite of the SJB not having the numbers in parliament, the no-faith motion had been directed at the government as part of its overall political strategy to cause a split.

“Those who had publicly criticised me for announcing the fuel price hike are aware of the circumstances leading to the June 11 announcement. Both the President and the Prime Minister endorsed the decision,” Minister Gammanpila said, adding that problems couldn’t be addressed through rhetoric. Whatever, various spokespersons say, at the end of the day, the SLPP would have to defeat the SJB no-faith motion by the widest possible margin.

The lawyer explained that the Cost of Living Committee decided on the fuel price hike in the wake of Central Bank issuing a dire warning on the national economy. The Minister said that the Central Bank warned the Treasury of dire consequences unless fuel prices were revised forthwith.

The Energy Minister said that Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle, too, acknowledged the challenges ahead when SJB lawmaker Dr. Harsha de Silva recently sought the Treasury Chief’s opinion on the current financial situation. The SJB has raised the issue at a routine meeting of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath.

He pointed out the SJB’s contradictory stand on the economic situation. On one hand, the SJB demands the government bring down the price of fuel and provide relief to the masses. Referring to high profile SJB’s vehicle protest outside the parliament to highlight their demand to reduce fuel prices, Minister Gammanpila said the same lot called for IMF intervention to save the economy.

Minister Gammanpila said that he didn’t play politics with the issue but sought a common ground where all could work together to overcome challenges. The minister recalled the difficulties faced by him recently when he sought the foreign exchange required to procure fuel. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in his address to the nation late last month acknowledged the daunting task in meeting annual loan payments amounting to USD 4 bn.

A group of eight lawmakers, including two ministers, Wimal Weerawansa and Vasudeva Nanayakkara, recently declared that they would soon propose a relief package to those who had been badly affected by the June 11 fuel price hike. However, the group hadn’t taken it up at cabinet or parliamentary group level and such a mechanism remained unfeasible due to the current situation, The Island learns.

Early last month, Minister Gammanpila declared that the country lacked the wherewithal to build a second refinery at Sapugaskanda and external investments were required to get the project off the ground. Minister Gammanpila pointed out that Minister Bandula Gunawardena and State Minister Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, too, recently explained how difficult the situation was on the economic front.