• Talks underway between Trade, Commerce & Food Security Min. and Finance Min., Nalin Fernando to discuss fate of 300 staffers with Labour Min.  

The Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security said that it is holding discussions with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies to determine whether the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) should be closed due to making losses for several years.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (28) in response to media reports that there are preparations to close the CWE and that its properties and assets are to be taken over by the Lanka Sathosa Ltd., Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security Nalin Fernando said that this decision was reached due to the CWE continuously incurring losses for many years. “This decision is expected to be made regarding the CWE and not about the Lanka Sathosa Ltd. We have been taking such steps for a long time. Although Lanka Sathosa Ltd. was restructured, the CWE, in particular, did not have such a systematic programme. The company has a lot of debt. They have to pay very high interest. The salaries of the employees are paid from the money received from renting the buildings owned by the company. Due to these reasons, of 700 employees, approximately 400 employees have left the service. So, some decision should be taken in this regard,” he said.

The Minister also said that he will discuss with the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment to take a decision regarding the employees of the company that could be affected by this programme.

He noted that the institution has been losing billions of rupees for about 20 years and that no recapitalisation has taken place during that time. He also said that the final decision will be taken by the Ministry of Finance as there is no profit for the Government in continuing this.

When queried by The Daily Morning yesterday regarding this matter, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said that it is premature to comment on the actions that are to be taken regarding the CWE as the discussions are still underway but that the two Ministries have agreed to reach a final decision by next week.