By Rathindra Kuruwita

The government must reveal the losses incurred by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) since 2008 due to the prevention of cost-reflective pricing, and tell the people how it planed to recover the losses, former Minister of Energy, and leader of Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Udaya Gamnapila, said.Gammanpila said that CPC trade unions alleged that the government could reduce the price of petrol and diesel by Rs. 50 to Rs.100 rupees.

“The government can say they could have reduced more, given the drop in world market prices. However, because the price had not reflected costs since 2008, losses have accumulated. They can say that they want to recover losses. This is a valid argument,” Gammanpila said.On the other hand, Sri Lanka had started paying a premium for fuel in recent months, he said. The premium is the difference between the market oil price and the estimated price a country receives the fuel. This can include insurance and shipping costs, he said.

“Until quite recently, we had paid around 1.5 US dollars a barrel as a premium. Now, we pay 24.5 US dollars a barrel as premium. We don’t carry out competitive bidding. We accept unsolicited proposals. If we are not reducing prices because of these self-inflicted losses, then there is no justification for keeping the prices up.

“When Mangala Samaraweera was the Finance Minister, he introduced a price formula. I wanted to secure his formula and they didn’t give it.”

The PHU leader said he had tried to convince the Gotabaya Rajapaksa administration from October 2020, that the country would face a foreign exchange crisis, which would bring about an energy crisis and destroy the economy.

“I kept on warning, but they didn’t care. In June 2021, I increased the price of diesel by seven rupees and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Secretary brought a no-confidence motion against me. Then, we went before the public and warned them that there was a looming foreign exchange crisis and that we needed to reduce consumption and get ready. I presented numbers and evidence. Some ministers then attacked me mercilessly. Minister Johnston Fernando said that Sri Lanka had enough dollars and that Gammanpila was scaring people. I was making mountains out of mole hills, they said. Now, we know who was telling the truth,” he said.The Sri Lankan government was the country’s biggest company, he said. It employed close to 1.5 million people and the annual expenditure amounted to trillions of rupees, Gammanpila said.

“The Cabinet is the board of directors of this company. When it is manned by the least bright people, it is obvious that things will go pear-shaped. I can understand some ministers not seeing the coming crisis. However, when someone warns you about the coming crisis with evidence, and you keep on denying the reality, you shouldn’t be a decisionmaker. Now, I hear Johnston is desperate to come into the Cabinet again and that he is pressuring the President,” he said.

Gammanpila said that from 2021 he had insisted that Sri Lanka must reduce non-essential imports and focus on ensuring a continuous supply of fuel, gas, food and medicine.

“If we can’t ensure a smooth supply of the above-mentioned items, nothing will work. Others MPs, academics and unionists also warned. I wanted to introduce a quota system for fuel in November 2021. I was not the first to suggest this. The then Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara suggested this a few months before. Basil Rajapaksa discarded my proposals. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa removed three He apparently didn’t want people to panic.”