News
All major decisions on emergency purchase of 182 types of drugs taken in 2022 while second suspect was in the UK
Controversial purchase of ‘human immunoglobulin’ from private sector
The emergency procurement of 182 items of pharmaceutical drugs, including ‘human immunoglobulin’ (HI) and ‘rituximab,’ had been decided by the Health Ministry based on a Cabinet decision taken on 26th September 2022, as per documents issued by the then Secretary, Ministry of Health, and that soon thereafter offers had been invited by an Emergency Procurement Committee (EPC), headed by the then Health Ministry Secretary. Offers had been opened on 3rd October 2022 and that the successful bidders had been selected by the EPC and informed shortly thereafter of their selection, having obtained the recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).
These submissions were made before Maligakanda Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrema Weerasinghe by President’s Counsel M.M. Zuhair who appeared with Anjana Rathnasiri and Rizwan Uvais for Dr. Wickramanayake, the 2nd suspect in the controversial government decision to purchase 182 pharmaceuticals, including HI, from private sector suppliers, under the Indian line of credit of US $ 200 million offered by the Delhi government in March 2022.
During virtually the entire year in 2022, when all the major decisions were taken to purchase from local suppliers, as decided by the Cabinet including HI and other pharmaceuticals, Dr Kapila Wickramanayake was in the United Kingdom on an officially released assignment and was not the Director in the medical supplies division of the Health Ministry.
The 28/10/2022 letter of the Health Secretary, also states that letters of acceptance of the selected offers had already been issued to the successful suppliers.
The second suspect had nothing to do with any of the major relevant decisions relating to this purchase and on his resuming duties as the Director, MSD, in 2023, he had no personal involvement, even at the delivery point in the Health Ministry Stores.
These submissions, Zuhair PC said, were being made based on the CID reports of investigations, dated 1st and 20th November 2022, made to the Maligakanda Magistrate, following certain incidents of adverse reactions on some patients, allegedly from the human immunoglobulin supplied by the first suspect’s company.
He said that according to the CID investigations, filed in Court dated 1/11/2023, the first suspect’s company had apparently disclosed in their offer to the EPC that the raw material for the production of ‘HI’ will be imported from the named Indian manufacturer and produced in Sri Lanka and supplied by and on behalf of the Indian Company.
Zuhair PC urged the CID to produce to Court, the Health Secretary’s letter, dated 28/10/2022, addressed to the Deputy Director General of the medical supplies division requiring payments for supplies to be done within 45 days, failing which delayed payments will cost the Ministry an additional 3% monthly charge payable to the supplier by the Ministry, whereas the penalty for late deliveries and quantity failures payable by the supplier can be waived by the Ministry.
When all these happened here in 2022, the second suspect Dr Wickramanayake was working in the UK. He is entitled to bail as the Public Property Act has no application considering the facts of this case, he submitted.
According to paragraph 18 of the police investigations, Counsel said, the successful tenderer of the human immunoglobulin is alleged to have submitted a forged WOR to the Medical Supplies Division, which is subject to investigation. The said supplier is the first suspect.
If so, it is the officials in the Medical Supplies Division who had been cheated by the Supplier, and these officials could be important witnesses. The Magistrate reserved order for 13/12/2023.
Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama appeared on behalf of the Attorney General for the CID. Kalinga Indatissa PC appeared for the first suspect Sudath Janaka Fernando, the supplier. Kasun Chanaka AAL appeared for the third suspect Shanthini Soloman. Roland Perera PC appeared for the fourth suspect Niran Danajaya. Asoka Serasinghe AAL appeared for the fifth suspect Sujith Wasantha Kumara.
Family sources have confirmed that the interment of singer Latha Walpola will be performed at the General Cemetery Borella on Wednesday (31 December).
In an environmental initiative commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy, the Western Naval Command organized a cleanup programme at Galle Face Beach on Saturday (27 Dec 25).
The programme focused on the removal of substantial solid waste littering the beachfront, including accumulated plastic and polythene debris. All collected wastey was systematically disposed of utilizing methods designed to safeguard the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to the cause, the cleanup effort saw the participation of the Commander Western Naval Area and a group of over 200 naval personnel.
Sri Lanka’s environmental protection framework is rapidly eroding, with weak law enforcement, politically driven development and the routine sidelining of environmental safeguards pushing the country towards an ecological crisis, leading environmentalists have warned.
Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), has said the growing environmental damage across the island is not the result of regulatory gaps, but of persistent failure to enforce existing laws.
“Sri Lanka does not suffer from a lack of environmental regulations — it suffers from a lack of political will to enforce them,” Pathragoda told The Sunday Island. “Environmental destruction is taking place openly, often with official knowledge, and almost always without accountability.”
Dr. Pathragoda has said environmental impact assessments are increasingly treated as procedural formalities rather than binding safeguards, allowing ecologically sensitive areas to be cleared or altered with minimal oversight.
“When environmental approvals are rushed, diluted or ignored altogether, the consequences are predictable — habitat loss, biodiversity decline and escalating conflict between humans and nature,” Pathragoda said.
Environmental activist Janaka Withanage warned that unregulated development and land-use changes are dismantling natural ecosystems that have sustained rural communities for generations.
“We are destroying natural buffers that protect people from floods, droughts and soil erosion,” Withanage said. “Once wetlands, forests and river catchments are damaged, the impacts are felt far beyond the project site.”
Withanage said communities are increasingly left vulnerable as environmental degradation accelerates, while those responsible rarely face legal consequences.
“What we see is selective enforcement,” he said. “Small-scale offenders are targeted, while large-scale violations linked to powerful interests continue unchecked.”
Both environmentalists warned that climate variability is amplifying the damage caused by poor planning, placing additional strain on ecosystems already weakened by deforestation, sand mining and infrastructure expansion.
Pathragoda stressed that environmental protection must be treated as a national priority rather than a development obstacle.
“Environmental laws exist to protect people, livelihoods and the economy,” he said. “Ignoring them will only increase disaster risk and long-term economic losses.”
Withanage echoed the call for urgent reform, warning that continued neglect would result in irreversible damage.
“If this trajectory continues, future generations will inherit an island far more vulnerable and far less resilient,” he said.
Environmental groups say Sri Lanka’s standing as a biodiversity hotspot — and its resilience to climate-driven disasters — will ultimately depend on whether environmental governance is restored before critical thresholds are crossed.
By Ifham Nizam ✍️
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