• SJB alliance to discuss soon
• FPC to definitely move on the matter

The main Parliamentary Opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) is planning to move another no-confidence motion (NCM) against former Health Minister and incumbent Environment Minister Keheliya Rambukwella over the controversial substandard intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) deal, The Daily Morning learns.

Attorneys representing two suspects in the case including the owner of Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Private) Limited which supplied the stock of IVIG in question recently claimed before Maligakanda Magistrate Lochana Abeywickrama that their clients had implied that the IVIG deal had been carried out on the instructions of Rambukwella.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (17), SJB Parliamentarian Dr. Kavinda Heshan Jayawardhana said that they had planned to move an NCM against Rambukwella in the coming days. "When we brought an NCM against him previously, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna defeated it saying that no allegation against him (Rambukwella) had been established. But, they cannot say it this time. Almost everyone knows that Rambukwella was behind this IVIG deal. We have therefore planned to bring an NCM. The SJB led alliance will be meeting soon to discuss the matter."

Commenting on the matter to The Daily Morning, the Opposition’s Freedom People's Alliance (FPA) MP Wasantha Yapabandara claimed that Rambukwella had no moral right to hold any Ministerial position in the Government. "He submitted a Cabinet paper asking for the money needed to pay for this corrupt transaction. In the presentation of that Cabinet paper, he has mentioned that if this medicine is not imported, the country's health sector will collapse. Even though he was making a big effort to import this medicine, the World Health Organisation had agreed to provide a stock of it to Sri Lanka and the Medical Supplies Division (MSD) had enough of this medicine. He has misled the Cabinet and facilitated the import of IVIG. Therefore, we will definitely move an NCM against him."

A batch of IVIG had been suspended from use following the revelation that the local supplier named Isolez Biotech Pharma AG (Pvt.) Ltd. had imported it by submitting forged documents for Customs clearing. Among the Government officials who were arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) regarding the incident and were subsequently placed in remand custody are former Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandraguptha, the MSD Director Dr. Kapila Wickramanayake, the Assistant MSD Director Shanthi Solomon, the MSD's Accountant (Supplies) Niran Dhananjaya, and the MSD’s Pharmacist Sujith Kumara.

With those arrests being made, several parties have called for action against Rambukwella, who was the Health Minister at the time of the relevant incident. However, the attorney representing Chandraguptha recently alleged in Court that the CID was refraining from arresting Rambukwella due to political favouritism, and that the real culprits involved in the crime are yet to be apprehended.

The SJB moved an NCM against Rambukwella in September of last year (2023), and it was defeated after being taken up for a vote in the Parliament on 08 September. The NCM was presented by the Opposition over several issues in the health sector including the shortage of pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies and several deaths reported at Government hospitals due to the administration of substandard medication. During the vote, the NCM was defeated with 113 MPs voting against it and 73 MPs voting in favour.