• To be summoned before COPE

The Government has halted all potentially corrupt or irregular procedures, including tenders, at the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) that were ongoing when it took office, and will next launch investigations into questionable past activities, the Ministry of Ports and Shipping said yesterday (24). 

There have been frequent allegations regarding the procurement and tender processes at the SLPA in the past.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the Deputy Minister of Ports and Shipping, Janith Ruwan Kodithuwakku said that when the current National People's Power Government took over, several non-transparent and incomplete tender processes were underway — especially within the East Container Terminal (ECT), including for the procurement of carriers. “As soon as we came to power, we stopped those processes immediately and restarted them. The relevant technical evaluation committees have pointed out certain shortcomings, and we have corrected those before re-launching the tenders. Our first priority was to prevent any possible corruption or irregularities. Otherwise, we would have had to investigate those as well, in addition to what has happened in the past,” he said. 

Kodithuwakku added that in about a month, the Government expects to begin a comprehensive audit of earlier transactions and procedures at the SLPA. “We are already working on some of it. For instance, there were certain concerns raised about the actions of the previous Managing Director of the SLPA. Those issues have been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department for the necessary course of action,” said the Deputy Minister.

He also noted that some of these irregularities have come to light through reports from the Auditor General and the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). Further he added: “The SLPA will also be called before COPE in the coming weeks. What we can say with certainty is that the processes we have restarted are transparent and corrected. We have done what can be fixed, and will also look into what went wrong in the past.”

The SLPA was constituted under the provisions of the SLPA Act, No. 51 of 1979 as amended. There are several Ports coming under the SLPA's purview, including those in Colombo, Galle, Hambantota, Oluvil, Trincomalee, Point Pedro, and Kankesanthurai.