News
SJB alleges Kanchana did away with 1% royalty on Sinopec, etc., to settle loans, passed debt burden on to consumers
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) trade unionist Ananda Palitha yesterday (15) said that Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera had abolished a Cabinet decision to impose 1% royalty on a month’s sales imposed on new entrants to the market China’s Sinopec, Australia’s United Petroleum and RM Parks of the USA. That was to be exclusively used to settle what the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owed its creditors, Palitha said.
However, having done away with 1% royalty on a request made by Sinopec, the debt burden had been conveniently passed on to consumers, the former UNP trade union activist said. United Petroleum and RM Parks are yet to launch operations here.
Palitha thanked Minister Wijesekera for publicly acknowledging that consumers of petrol and diesel have been made to pay Rs 50 per litre since the middle of last year to settle what the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owed its creditors.
Minister Wijesekera said this when Chamuditha Samarawickrema raised the issue on the ‘Salakuna’ live political programme on Hiru TV recently.
Palitha said that a litre of petrol 92 cost Rs. 366, Octane 95 Rs. 464, Auto Diesel Rs. 358 and Super Diesel Rs. 475 because the CPC passed its debt on to consumers. A litre of Kerosene is sold at Rs. 236.
Minister Wijesekera owed an explanation why he changed the agreement in favour of the companies, thereby heaping further burden on the hapless public. Responding to another query, the trade union leader emphasized instead of compelling consumers to pay an additional Rs 50 per litre the government should have extended the 1 % royalty to CPC and Lanka IOC as well.
Palitha said that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government repeatedly assured consumers the entry of new suppliers would pave the way for quality products at an affordable price but the powers that be went to the extent of changing the original agreement to appease the Chinese.
Referring to Minister Wijesekera’s disclosure that USD 5 mn was being paid to Iran as Sri Lanka owed Teheran USD 240 mn for light crude purchases made two decades ago, Palitha said that during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure the CPC paid USD 35 mn for 90,000 mt of Iranian light crude. Alleging that deal had been conducted under controversial circumstances, at a time Teheran was under Western sanctions, Palitha said that though the payment was made at the time, the country did not receive the promised delivery of crude oil.
Palitha said that Iran never returned that money. Cash-strapped Sri Lanka should take up this issue with Iran, a friendly country always supportive of Sri Lanka, Palitha said, alleging that successive governments never made an attempt to recover USD 35 mn.
The trade union leader pointed out that the CPC should recover as much Rs 169 bn owed by several government institutions instead of fleecing the consumers. Of that amount, national carrier SriLankan alone owed Rs 110 bn in USD terms, Palitha said, urging the Cabinet-of-Ministers and the relevant Parliament watchdog committees to look into the matter.
Several years ago, consumers were made to pay Rs 1 per litre of petrol and diesel to settle CPC’s debt. One billion rupees had been allocated for that purpose regardless of the total amount collected, Palitha said. Now that amount had been raised to Rs 50 per litre of petrol and diesel, he added
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
The Secretary to the Prime Minister, Pradeep Saputhanthri, participated in the World Bank Group’s Global Digital Summit 2025, held from March 17 to 20 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Under the theme “Digital Pathways for All,” the summit brought together global authorities, development partners, private sector leaders, and key stakeholders to explore innovative digital solutions and their role in advancing economic and social development.
The summit provided valuable insights for Sri Lanka’s ongoing digitalization initiatives, which are being spearheaded under the leadership of the President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake. During the high-level discussions, Mr. Saputhanthri engaged with global experts to examine emerging digital technologies and strategies that can drive inclusive and sustainable digital transformation in Sri Lanka.
On the sidelines of the Global Digital Summit, Mr. Saputhanthri held discussions with key officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He met with Mr. Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, Dr. Krishnamoorthy Subramanian, Executive Director of the IMF, Dr. Krishna Srinivasan, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, and Dr. PKG Harischandra, Alternate Executive Director at the IMF.
During these meetings, Mr. Saputhanthri provided an update on the progress of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and expressed appreciation for the continued support of the IMF Executive Board, Senior Management, and Staff following the successful completion of the Third Review under the EFF in February 2025. He reaffirmed the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to meeting the forthcoming EFF review milestones. Discussions also covered the government’s ongoing digitalization efforts, aimed at supporting vulnerable communities, improving tax system efficiency, and enhancing overall economic productivity.
Mr. Saputhanthri also held a meeting with Mr. Martin Raiser, Vice President for the South Asia Region at the World Bank, to convey appreciation for the World Bank’s extensive support to Sri Lanka. Mr. Raiser reaffirmed the World Bank’s steadfast commitment to assisting Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development. The discussions focused on future collaborations to ensure continued financial and technical support for the country’s long-term stability and growth.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
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