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Fuel Price Stabilization Fund was never maintained: Gammanpila

15 Jun 2021

 Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila has revealed that the cabinet approved ‘Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund’ was never maintained. “On the 30th March 2020 the Cabinet of Ministers had approved to establish this fund,” he told reporters on Tuesday (15) noting that it was approved before he was appointed as the Energy Minister. A Fuel Price Stabilisation Fund should be implemented when the prices of fuel drop, he said, adding that the plan was to use the fund to stabilize prices in the event fuel prices increase globally. “Although the cabinet approved to establish the fund, it was never realized as the government lost foreign revenue with the surge in COVID-19 cases in March last year,” he said. He further explained that the government had to depend entirely on the taxes imposed on oil imports, adding that at the time the government expenditure was also high due to COVID requirements. "However, in March 2021, the government studied 28 global price stabilization mechanisms in order to establish the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund with the goal of catering to Sri Lanka’s requirements," he said. Despite, the Minister stated that such a fund cannot be implemented when global market prices are rising and stated that the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund would most likely be implemented in the future.


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