Rupee fell because of the Govt.: Senadhipathi The Sri Lankan rupee depreciated because the Government, in a bid to take revenge from him, denied Avant Garde Maritime Services (Pvt.) Ltd. a billion dollar private security contract of the Nigerian Government, claims Avant Garde Group of Companies Chairman Rtd. Maj. Nissanka Senadhipathi. “If I was allowed to start this project, we could have obtained one year’s fees or nearly $ 1 billion as an advance. Had these funds come into the country, there wouldn’t have been any foreign exchange crisis!” he lamented. “Sri Lanka armed forces have the best troops experienced in counter terrorism. After hearing about our proficiency and professionalism, the Nigerian Government requested me to take over the security of their oil wells, maritime border, and vulnerable points,” Senadhipathi explained. According to him, this could have brought in $ 70 million monthly into Sri Lanka with nearly 40% of this spent for paying salaries of employees. “The lowest pay is $ 2,000 or roughly Rs. 375,000 to privates. A brigadier would be paid $ 6,000 or roughly Rs. 1 million, whilst a general would receive roughly $ 25,000.” He says Avant Garde, after doing a six-month study, submitted a request letter to the Ministry as this had the potential to create gainful employment for 25,000 retired armed forces personnel with the potential of bringing in foreign earnings of nearly $ 1 billion into the country. “We told the Ministry of Defence that we are racing against time. Three other European countries are vying for this but the Nigerian Government has given priority to us. This business does not need a cent of investment from the Government. Still, there is not a single reply from the Ministry. Then I inquired using a third party but still no reply.” “These are not contracts after tendering as these entail vital counter-terrorism services… Even today, we are operating 25 vessels in the Red Sea. This Government still gives me weapons and I have a cache of 850 weapons. Recently too, this Government gave me more weapons. I was not allowed to bring in this foreign exchange because of political antagonism and revenge-taking. He charged that two ministers who crossed over from the Rajapaksa camp – one from Colombo District and the other from Kalutara District – were scuttling the project allegedly because Avant Garde did not bow down to their extortion demands and on the basis that Senadhipathi supported former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “This is how this Government takes revenge from our country. Our war veterans have no option but to take up paddy farming,” he exclaimed. The letter said that although stiff competition has been encountered, the competitors have a high regard and respect for the capabilities of the Sri Lankan armed forces personnel. Senadhipathi, in a secret communiqué addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, dated 28 June, laments that the maritime security business carried out by Avant Garde was expropriated by the present Government, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs held by retired war veterans, which was further exacerbated with the disbanding of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd. (RALL). “However, we understand that the President, having realised the gravity of the situation of unemployed war veterans, has now initiated action to reinstitute RALL to the obvious delight of those who have lost employment,” the letter states. According to the letter, the operational requirement in the Nigerian joint venture entails providing security to oil fields and other vital locations on a defensive role including surveillance, maritime surveillance, and patrolling to intercept illegal entrants as well as mine detection and clearing. The initial requirement would be around 300 officers and 3,000 other ranked retired military and STF (Special Task Force) including 10 major generals, 10 rear admirals, and 10 helicopter pilots. The memo also states that this cadre was expected to increase to around 1,500 officers and 15,000 other ranks within a short time. The communiqué has further stated that the project would ultimately bring in a staggering $ 1 billion worth of foreign earnings to the country while creating nearly 25,000 high-paying job opportunities. ----------------------------------------------- From chairs to air-freshener Hot on the heels of the super-luxury chair fiasco, the Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya yet again had to take flak with Western Provincial Councillor Salochana Gamage charging that the council had spent a whopping Rs. 16 million on air fresheners in order to ensure that the Western Provincial Council premises smelled good! The whole council building was installed with 875 air-freshener devices at a cost of Rs 18,700 each and each refilling cost Rs 3,000 per device, costing a thumping Rs. 2,625,000. Members of the general public question as to why Chief Minister Devapriya wants the Western Provincial Council to smell good when the President’s Office and even the Prime Minister’s Office hardly uses any air freshener and when thousands of families don’t have three square meals a day, let alone luxury amenities like perfume or air freshener. ------------------------------------------------------- UC Chairman opts for garbage tractor In a bizarre incident, Vavuniya Urban Council (UC) Chairman Ramalingam Gautham arrived at a meeting held at the Vavuniya District Secretariat in a garbage tractor as a mark of protest. Gautham stated that he was forced to use a garbage tractor as the vehicle issued to him is being repaired and despite requesting for a temporary vehicle he had not been issued with the same. Commenting on this on social media, a citizen noted that it was not extraordinary for politicians to travel in garbage trucks as most of them talk garbage, whilst another citizen was quick to note that by issuing all parliamentarians and other politicos with tractors it would undoubtedly lead to the saving of billions of rupees of public funds which instead could be used for the good of the public. Gautham from Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was elected the Chairman of the Vavuniya Urban Council on 10 April this year, although the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) obtained the highest number of votes. The TULF and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which had three seats each and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), which had one seat each, voted for him along with three United National Party (UNP) councillors, defeating the TNA candidate. Earlier last week, Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariywasam was also seen opting for an alternate form of transportation when he hopped on a motorbike to attend Parliament sessions. The bumper-to-bumper traffic jam on Parliament Road resulted in Kariyawasam taking a ride on a motorbike in a slight drizzle with a file partially providing cover to his head. Although refreshing to see a government minister resorting to alternative forms of transportation, it was unfortunate that he forgot to wear a helmet, which is in fact a law of the land. Interestingly, the many traffic cops on the road also refrained from warning the Minister. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mahinda denigrated the judiciary says DEW Former Minister and Sri Lanka Communist Party General Secretary Comrade D.E.W. Gunasekera stated that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa used ministers such as Wimal Weerawansa to tarnish the judiciary at a public gathering in Kamburupitiya recently. Although he himself had admitted several times that the process taken to impeach then Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike was totally wrong, he nevertheless utilised Minister Wimal Weerawansa and others to cast aspersions and discredit the Chief Justice, the old comrade iterated. “During the Rajapaksa administration I repeated several times that this procedure was wrong. Parliamentarians should not act like the judiciary and hear the case (of Bandaranaike). I will not change my position; if you want to you can remove me from the Cabinet. If you are impeaching her, take the correct lawful approach. You could not allow people like Wimal Weerawansa to cross examine her. We saw the deplorable manner in which a Chief Justice was cross examined and addressed by MPs. This resulted in the collapse of Rule of Law and denigrated the judiciary. This degraded the Parliament. The first and foremost duty of a Member of Parliament is to legislate. Legislation is what all 225 of the Parliament do not engage in nowadays. The next duty is to raise questions pertaining to the public. How do you do this when only about 10 MPs even bother to attend Parliament? This is the degradation of the political culture,” he lamented.