BY RUWANI FONSEKA The repairs at the Norochcholai power plant has been delayed and repeated breakdowns is due to the lack of foreign exchange and funds to purchase spare parts and bring in foreign engineers to attend to the repairs, says CEB Engineers Union Secretary Dhammika Wimalaratne. He made this statement while speaking exclusively with The Morning today (16). "There are conctant breakdowns at Norochcholai because we are unable to procure brand new spare parts due to the lack of funds and forex. It is just like maintaining a car, if second hand parts are used, a car will not run for long. Same goes for the power plant. We are using second-hand spare parts, and those dont last long. We just dont have the funds to purchase original or brand new spare parts anymore," said Wimalaratne. He further noted that the engineers at the power plants are capable of repairing the machinery, but due to the lack of motivation and proper management, the engineers have lost interest. "The engineers are demotivated. Yes, they are well paid but their concerns are not taken into consideration by the Ministry. There are many concerns that need immediate attention. The engineers are demotivated and are now just doing what they need to. We no longer see engineers working with an additional effort considering the betterment of the country, and this is mainly due to the lack of attention, management being politicised and motivation from superiors," he further noted.