News

JVP says CMC losing Rs 320 million from new contract for clearing garbage

Published

2 years ago

2021/03/27

Sahan Weerasooriya

Mayor denies any wrongdoing

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) had incurred a loss of Rs. 320 million from a contract awarded for collecting and transporting garbage, JVP Municipal Councilor Hemantha Weerakoon said yesterday.

Weerakoon said that garbage collection was done separately in several wards and when renewing the contracts, the CMC had awarded the tender to a company that had quoted a much higher price than previously.

“For example the previous contract to collect garbage in Ward No 4 was Rs. 118 million. The new contract is worth Rs. 197 million. This is an increase of 80 million rupees. The CMC is going to pay Rs. 105 million more to collect garbage in Ward No 3 and Rs.119 million more for collecting garbage in Ward No 2. The price of fuel has not gone up and the wages have not gone up, so why pay more?”

The JVP councilor said that the process of awarding contracts was riddled with malpractices.

In response the Mayor of Colombo, Rosy Senanayake said that the previous contract had been signed in 2017 and that it was not reasonable to expect the contractor to agree to the same amount due to cost factors.

Councillor Weerakoon said that no one would have objected to a reasonable increase, but there had been 100% increases in some cases.

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News

Stay on course and don’t go back to the past – Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

Former Governor of the Central Bank delivering the keynote address at a high profile Webinar hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (24) said that Sri Lanka must implement the structural reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without relaxing like in the past or else we will be in a deeper economic mess.

The webinar was titled ‘What is next for Sri Lanka in the wake of the IMF programme’

News

Sustainable economic development goals cannot be achieved unless attention is paid to mitigating climate change – Sagala Ratnayake

Published

6 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake said sustainable economic development goals cannot be accomplished without taking steps to mitigate climate change.

He said this while participating in the 10,000 sapling planting program organized by the LEO Youth Vision 2048 Club and the LEO Club at the Royal College, Colombo on Thursday (23rd).

This program was organized in view of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s birthday, which is today (24), and the required plants were distributed to the main schools of the Colombo District.

News

SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

Published

18 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.

“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.

Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.

“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.

Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.

“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”