• ECA wants fmr. Min. and current Min. grilled by P’ment comms.
• Probe sought from Auditor Gen., CIABOC, CID against snr. officials at CEB and LTL Holdings, including of their assets-liabilities 

The Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) questioned how the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) 70% shareholding in the Lanka Transformers Limited Holdings (LTL) was reduced over the years, and called for immediate investigations into the matter.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, ECA General Secretary Sanjeewa Dhammika said that the issue has recently drawn the attention of both the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Infrastructure and Strategic Development and the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), and expressed his appreciation for the committees’ focus on the matter. He urged that Power and Energy  former Minister Kanchana Wijesekera and the current Trade, Commerce, and Food Security Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, who is also a trade union leader, be summoned before the said committees to explain their respective roles.

“It was during Wijesekera’s tenure that a decision was taken to exchange 28% of the shares for debt. Only Rs. 58 billion of debt was covered with these 28% shares. Why was this not sold competitively through the stock market? This is a game. If it had been sold publicly, the Government could have earned over Rs. 100 billion,” he claimed.

Dhammika further alleged that Samarasinghe, who had previously filed a case concerning the audit of the company, later withdrew it, and therefore shares responsibility for the issue. “He knows everything about this from the beginning to the end. He should also be brought before the COPE and the particular SOC. His role in this process must be looked into.”

He also claimed that the LTL has maintained a monopoly in transformer production and sales for years, without any competition or open tender process. “They continued their irregular practices with the support of senior CEB officials, including its Chairpersons. The Auditor General must now conduct a full audit covering all past years.”

He further alleged that the mismanagement and irregularities at the LTL had directly contributed to the increase in electricity bills. “These people are economic killers. Because of this, the cost of electricity went up, production costs at factories rose, and the competitiveness of industries such as garments declined. As a result, investors withdrew, factory production dropped, and the national economy slowed down. We have been raising this issue for nearly a decade. The Government must initiate a thorough investigation. The personal assets and liabilities of senior officials of the LTL Holdings must be examined. We urge the Government to refer this matter to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for immediate action.”

Attempts to contact a member of the Board of Directors of the LTL Holdings proved futile.