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Litro employees slam past three chairmen

13 Jun 2022

  • Claim they took Rs. 20 bn company to debt of Rs. 10 bn
  • Demand Yahapalana-era MD be made Chairman
A group of employees of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. has alleged that the past three chairmen of the State-owned gas supplier brought the company to its current pathetic financial state, and endorsed Muditha Pieris, the Litro Gas Lanka Managing Director from 2015-2019, for the post of Chairman.  “Anil Koswatte came, but he didn’t do his job properly and left. Then came Theshara Jayasinghe – he made the previous chairman look like a mafioso. Jayasinghe was the chairman who could not even bring a gas ship properly here. After that, it was Vijitha Herath – he became angry with the best gas supplier in the region and didn’t manage finances properly,” Litro Gas Lanka Advertising Manager Piyal Colombahettige said yesterday (12), addressing a media briefing. The media briefing was organised following the resignation of Vijitha Herath as Chairman of Litro on Friday (10), less than two months after he was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The group of employees demanded that Muditha Pieris be appointed Litro Gas Lanka Chairman, stating he had managed the company properly during his tenure. “In 2019, Litro had Rs. 20 billion in its account, but today, it is in debt of Rs. 10 billion. This is not just due to the dollar crisis, but also due to bad leadership over the past few years. Today, nobody is there to pay for the ship that came. We heard that United National Party (UNP) National Organiser Sagala Rathnayake and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have proposed Muditha Pieris to be the new chairman. Pieris was the one who managed this company well, and left it with profits – all of us employees are awaiting his comeback,” said Colombahettige.  The latest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) ship arrived in Sri Lanka on 8 June, but its cargo has not been unloaded yet, as it awaits payments. It is expected to be unloaded either today (13) or tomorrow (14).  The LPG supply has been severely affected due to the economic crisis in the country. Consumers of the privately owned Laugfs Gas PLC have complained that stocks have been hard to obtain all year, while the State-owned Litro Gas Lanka has faced supply issues as well. Consumers standing in long queues for days on end to obtain a LPG cylinder has become a common sight, which has affected families, home-run businesses, small businesses, and large restaurants alike.


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