• Claims Minister hasn’t received COPE report 

Disciplinary and possible legal action against officers who were allegedly involved in an organic fertiliser import scam – which took place during 2021-2022 – will be taken following a probe which is to be conducted by a committee headed by a retired judge, the Agriculture and Plantation Industries Ministry said.

Speaking in Parliament on Saturday (9), Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries Mahinda Amaraweera said that the particular committee would be appointed soon and a retired judge is to be appointed to lead the Committee. He made these remarks in response to a question raised by independent Parliamentarian (MP) Dayasiri Jayasekara regarding the status of the ongoing investigations into the incident.

The Minister claimed that no names of politicians have been disclosed thus far by ongoing investigations; instead names of new officials in the Agriculture Ministry who were serving at decision-making positions have been disclosed. He also said in Parliament that a payment of $ 6.7 million has been made to the supplier by the Ministry.

He further noted that he had not received any report prepared by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) thus far, claiming that therefore he was not in a position to execute the recommendations and findings of the said report. “I have not received any COPE report or Auditor General’s report in this regard. I do not know whether the Ministry had received it, but I did not. Now, we have decided to appoint a committee which is to be headed by a retired judge. Actions on those who are involved in the scam will be decided as per that committee report,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Opposition Whip and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition MP Lakshman Kiriella said that Minister Amaraweera is trying to mislead the House since the COPE had been given the Auditor General’s report, and therefore, he must be aware of the matter. However, he also said the report is yet to be taken into consideration. He said that COPE should take such important matters into its consideration as soon as it is reconvened.

MP Jayasekara also said that many important probes have come  to a standstill as a result of suspending COPE meetings while its  chairman had gone missing. Also, the Minister said the Agriculture Ministry would not be able to  take action against some officers involved in the scam as they are no longer attached to the Ministry.      

It was reported according to the Auditor General’s 2022 annual report that a staggering sum of Rs 1.3 billion was paid to a Chinese company for the import of organic fertilisers, despite failing crucial tests and lacking the necessary approval from the Director General of Agriculture. According to the report, the import of 96,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser – intended for use across 500,000 hectares in the 2021/2022 Maha season – took place without obtaining the mandatory phytosanitary certificate and import permit in accordance with the Plant Protection Act No.35 of 1999.