All purchases through Sathosa are made by following a clearly defined procurement framework that was decided by a committee and not a single individual, Lanka Sathosa Ltd. Chairman Nushad M. Perera explained yesterday (7).
He issued this statement in response to a remark made by National People’s Power (NPP) MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament on 4 December.
In the statement, he noted that MP Dissanayake had said that “as soon as the import duty was reduced, Sathosa Chairman made an irregular purchase of 5,000 MT of sugar from a close associate of himself and that of a VVIP”.
Perera’s statement clarified: “The procurement was carried out through a Ministerial Procurement Committee (MPC), which is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, and comprises officials from the Ministry of Finance as well as the Chairman of Lanka Sathosa, as members.
“In addition, a Technical Committee sits along with the Procurement Committee. The Technical Committee consists of an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, a senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Food Technologist of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE), as well as its DGM of Finance.
“The said procurement of sugar was carried out on 20 October 2020, adhering to all procurement guidelines by the above committee, and was the lowest quoted price for sugar at the procurement tender (MPC/064).
“The total purchased sugar quantity was 750 MT, which is the weekly consumption demand, and not 5,000 MT as stated by the MP in Parliament, and at no time has there been any pressure exerted upon him by the President to make any purchases from anyone,” it said.
He issued this statement in response to a remark made by National People’s Power (NPP) MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament on 4 December.
In the statement, he noted that MP Dissanayake had said that “as soon as the import duty was reduced, Sathosa Chairman made an irregular purchase of 5,000 MT of sugar from a close associate of himself and that of a VVIP”.
Perera’s statement clarified: “The procurement was carried out through a Ministerial Procurement Committee (MPC), which is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, and comprises officials from the Ministry of Finance as well as the Chairman of Lanka Sathosa, as members.
“In addition, a Technical Committee sits along with the Procurement Committee. The Technical Committee consists of an Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, a senior official from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Food Technologist of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE), as well as its DGM of Finance.
“The said procurement of sugar was carried out on 20 October 2020, adhering to all procurement guidelines by the above committee, and was the lowest quoted price for sugar at the procurement tender (MPC/064).
“The total purchased sugar quantity was 750 MT, which is the weekly consumption demand, and not 5,000 MT as stated by the MP in Parliament, and at no time has there been any pressure exerted upon him by the President to make any purchases from anyone,” it said.