News
CEB trade union alliance accuses PUCSL of putting on a charade
Ceylon Electricity Board United Trade Union Alliance convenor Ranjan Jayalal yesterday alleged that the CEB, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Ministry of Power and Energy were working together to increase the electricity tariff by an unjust amount.Jayalal said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe is trying to implement his Regaining Sri Lanka agenda and is planning to sell 52 state agencies.
“Once these institutions are privatized, Sri Lanka will have no strategic autonomy. No government will have a say in the country’s economic policy,” he said.Jayalal said that the head of the PUCSL, Janaka Ratnayake, told the Committee on Public Enterprises that his main qualification to be chosen for this position was being a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporter.
“This is his main qualification, and you can understand where he comes from. He pretends that he is opposed to the proposed tariff hike. I will tell you what will happen in a few weeks. The PUCSL will allow a tariff hike and Ratnayake will say that the government was trying to sell a unit of electricity at Rs. 59 but he intervened and made the government only charge Rs. 49 per unit. They all meet in the night and then pretend to be enemies during the day. They are trying to divert people’s attention,” he said.
He said that the unions will not allow the government to increase tariffs as the CEB is making an operational profit. There are seven million electricity consumers, and they will take to the streets if tariffs are increased, Jayalal said.
“One of the biggest problems is the Minister, he has no idea what’s going on,” he said.Meanwhile, CEB Deputy General Manager Noel Priyantha said that the cost of production is 48.42 rupees per unit but the CEB sells at 29.14 rupees.
“So we have to increase. We have been making losses for some time. In 2021 the loss was 22 billion rupees and in 2022, the loss was 151 billion rupees. Things will be worse in 2023. There is a big economic loss in cutting power,” he said.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya yesterday sad that the Executive Presidency would be abolished, in line with the NPP’s election manifesto.
Speaking in Parliament, in response to a question raised under Standing Order 27/2 by Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa, the Prime Minister said the abolition would take place through a proposed new Constitution.
She added that preliminary work on drafting the new Constitution had already begun, with previous committee reports and other proposals being studied to guide the process.
“A concept paper on the draft will be presented to the Cabinet,” Amarasuriya said, noting that a formal study has been initiated on abolishing the Executive Presidency.
She said that the move cannot be implemented without introducing a new Constitution.
Leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament yesterday that the suspension of duties imposed on Dr. Rukshan Bellana, Deputy Director of the National Hospital, amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights.
Raising the issue during parliamentary proceedings, Premadasa, who is also the SJB Leader, questioned the decision to suspend the senior medical officer for issuing a statement to the media, particularly on matters relating to children’s medicines.
He said health was a fundamental right and noted that two children had reportedly died, stressing that the focus should be on accountability over the incident rather than penalising a medical professional for speaking out.
Premadasa criticised the authorities for suspending Dr. Bellana solely for communicating with the media, asking whether such action constituted justice for families who had lost their children.The Opposition Leader said silencing officials, who raise concerns, undermines fundamental rights and does not address the underlying issues related to patient safety and public health.
Acting Deputy Director of the Colombo National Hospital Dr. Rukshan Bellana has been suspended.
A letter, issued by the Ministry of Health, says preliminary investigations by the Ministry of Health has revealed that Dr. Bellana, as a government medical officer holding a responsible position, made statements to the media, without approval, in a manner that created a controversial situation in the country and unrest among the public.
The letter further stated that formal disciplinary action will be taken in due course regarding this matter.
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