News

Govt. insists no fraud in sugar imports

Published

5 years ago

2021/01/22

By Saman Indrajith

Cooperative Services, Marketing Development and Consumer Services State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna on Wednesday told Parliament that there was no truth in the Opposition’s allegations that the government had given undue duty concessions to a private sugar importer.

The Minister admitted that few companies made undue profits, making use of the gazettes issued by the government changing import duties on sugar. “But there was no fraud. If you insist that there was such untoward incidents then provide us with the details we may investigate it. We know that some companies made some profits but there is no proof of a fraud as alleged by the opposition.”

Minister Alagiyawanna said that during recent years the prices of essential food items had increased in November and December. “In October last year, our government made several policy decisions to give relief to people. On Oct 13 we released a gazette bringing down the 50 rupee import duty on a kilo of sugar to 25 cents. The price of a kilo of sugar was Rs 137 to 138 at that time. We thought that bringing down the tax would result in the lowering of the prices of sugar in the market. That did not happen. There had already been stocks of around 150,000 metric tons in warehouses belonging to the importers and they did not release their stocks. So, a private company came forward and imported sugar under the new price and released them to the market. That was what exactly happened. The decision to bring down the import tax was not taken by the President alone. The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade too were party to it.

“Today, the prices of some essential food items are determined by supply and demand. Market forces determine the prices though we have issued regulations. Though we still have control on the prices of fuel, gas, cigarettes and liquor, the prices of essential food items are determined by market forces. That is the reality. We can change this by allowing certain imports but our decision is to strengthen the local production and industries. Although the people and the Opposition blame us, we are determined to stick to our policy until local production and industries get their hold in the market. We know that this is hard but we have to do so. For example, we can bring down the prices of rice within five days. All we have to do is to import rice at low prices from India but that will not help our farmers. Not a single grain of rice was imported in the year 2020. As a result now our farmers get between 50 to Rs. 55 a kilo of paddy. They used to get only Rs 38 per kilo.

“We know that a certain company made an undue profit but that is the nature of business. The permanent solution for this is to develop the Cooperative shops and Sathosa so that the government would have a network of establishments that have an effect on the market.

“The Opposition alleges that a businessman made Rs 10 billion profit by importing sugar due to the lowering of the import duty. It is not so. The cost of the stock of imported sugar was around Rs. 11 billion so practically there couldn’t have been a 10 billion rupee profit. Today a kilo of sugar is Rs 118. Otherwise, it would have been in the range of Rs 155- 160 a kilo.”

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Advisory for Heavy Rain issued for the Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts

Published

5 hours ago

2026/02/22

Priyan

Advisory for Heavy Rain Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 08.30 a.m. on 22 February 2026 valid for the period until 08.30 a.m. 23 February 2026

Due to the influence of the low level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka, Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in Central, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and North-central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Therefore, general public is advised to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by heavy rain, strong winds and lightning during thundershowers

News

Matara Festival for the Arts’ inaugurated by the Prime Minister

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/22

Priyan

The inaugural ceremony of the Matara Festival for the Arts, featuring a wide range of creations by local and international artists, was held on February 19 at the Old High Court premises of the Matara Fort, under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

The festival, centred around the Old High Court premises in Matara and the auditorium of the Matara District Secretariat, will be open to the public from 20 to 23 of February. The festival will be featured by visual art exhibitions, short film screenings, Kala Pola, and a series of workshops conducted by experts.

The inaugural event was attended by the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Ms. Saroja Paulraj, along with artists, guests, and a large number of schoolchildren.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

Only single MP refuses salary as Parliament details pays and allowances

Published

15 hours ago

2026/02/22

Thilina Walpola

SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilake is the only MP to forego salary and allowances, with all payments suspended following his written notification on August 20, 2025.

Only one Member of Parliament has chosen not to receive the salaries and allowances entitled to MPs, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya revealed in Parliament last Thursday, shedding light on the financial perks enjoyed by members of the Tenth Parliament.

Speaking on Thursday (Feb. 19) in response to a question from SJB Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri, the Prime Minister outlined the full range of pay and allowances provided to parliamentarians.

According to Dr. Amarasuriya, MPs receive a monthly allowance of Rs. 54,285, an entertainment allowance of Rs. 1,000, and a driver’s allowance of Rs. 3,500—though MPs provided with a driver through the Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs are not eligible for the driver’s allowance.

Additional benefits include a telephone allowance of Rs. 50,000, a transport allowance of Rs. 15,000, and an office allowance of Rs. 100,000. MPs are also paid a daily sitting allowance of Rs. 2,500 for attending parliamentary sessions, with an additional Rs. 2,500 per day for participation in parliamentary sittings and Rs. 2,500 per day as a committee allowance.

Committee meetings held on non-parliament sitting days also attract Rs. 2,500 per day.

Fuel allowances are provided based on the distance between an MP’s electoral district and Parliament. National List MPs are entitled to a monthly allocation equivalent to 419.76 litres of diesel at the market price on the first day of each month.

Despite the comprehensive benefits, only SJB Badulla District MP Nayana Wasalathilaka has opted not to draw a salary or allowances. Dr. Amarasuriya said that in accordance with a written notification submitted by MP Wasalathilaka on August 20, 2025, payments have been suspended since that date.

The Prime Minister also confirmed that she, along with the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, committee chairs, ministers, deputy ministers, the Opposition Leader, and senior opposition whips, have all informed the Secretary-General of Parliament in writing that they will not claim the fuel allowance.

Challenging the ruling party’s voluntary pledge to forgo salaries, MP Wijesiri pointed out that all MPs except Wasalathilaka continue to receive their salaries and allowances. “On one hand you speak about the people’s mandate, which is good. But the mandate also included people who said they would voluntarily serve in this Parliament without salaries. Today we have been able to prove, Hon. Speaker, that except for one SJB MP, the other 224 Members are drawing parliamentary salaries,” he said.

The Prime Minister responded by defending the political culture and practice of allocating portions of MPs’ salaries to party funds. Referring to previous practices by the JVP and NPP, she said: “It is no secret to the country that the JVP has for a long time not personally taken MPs’ salaries or any allowances. I think the entire country knows that these go to a party fund. That is not new, nor is it something special to mention. The NPP operates in the same way. That too is not new; it is the culture of our political movement.”

When MP Wijesiri posed a supplementary question asking whether diverting salaries to party funds was an indirect method of taking care of MPs, Dr. Amarasuriya said: “There is no issue there. No question was raised; the Member made a statement. What we have seen throughout this week is an inability to understand our political culture and practice, and a clash with decisions taken by political movements that misused public funds. What is coming out is a certain mindset. That is why there is such an effort to find fault with the 159. None of these facts are new to people. He did not ask a question, so I have nothing to answer.”

The disclosures come days after the Government moved to abolish the parliamentary pension, a measure that has sparked renewed debate over MP compensation and the transparency of funds allocation.