Engineers warn Opposition of threat to national security from deal
BY Pamodi WaravitaSamagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) Opposition Parliamentarians embarked on an investigation visit to the Yugadanavi Power Plant in Kerawalapitiya yesterday (22), where engineers have cautioned about the potential threat to national security that could arise as a result of the recent sale of 40% of its shares. “We went to meet the engineers at the Plant who raised concerns about the potential threat to national security because this Yugadanavi agreement would bring an American Company into the picture,” SJB MP Mujibur Rahman, who was part of the visit yesterday, told The Morning. Rahman further questioned as to why there was a need to sell the shares of a profit-making power plant such as Yugadanavi. “There was no transparency when this agreement was signed. Even Cabinet Ministers have not seen the agreement before the signing. Thus, it is vital that we be aware of this issue and ensure that the Government does not merely sell off our valuable resources.”SJB MPs J.C. Alawathuwala and Dr. Kavinda Jayawardhana accompanied Rahman on the visit. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake tabled the aforementioned agreement in Parliament on 10 December, which shows that the deal was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and New Fortress Energy Sri Lanka Power Holdings Limited Liability Company. This was done after repeated requests to the Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge to table the agreement in Parliament were to no avail. Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thera and the Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, some office bearers of the JVP, and other parties including the Federation of National Organisations have filed petitions against the Government’s decision to hand over 40% of the shares of the Yugadanavi Power Plant to New Fortress Energy Inc., along with a monopoly over supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG).The Supreme Court commenced the hearings of the petitions against the agreement last week. The next hearing of the petitions is scheduled for 10 January 2022. The Morning reported this week that the controversial deal was proposed by New Fortress Energy Inc.’s Head of Power Jatila Ranasinghe and was mediated by two individuals, one a Board Director at a leading local conglomerate who is also a former Provincial Councillor, and the other, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) Chairman M.M.C. Ferdinando, the latter who had also signed the said agreement as a witness in his capacity as an Advisor to the Ministry of Finance.
