Zacki Jabbar
Despite the committee that probed the CPC’s import of sub standard petrol, recommending the recovery of the loss of around Rs.410 million from those responsible including the supplier, no action has been initiated, the UNP said yesterday.
Media spokesman of the UNP Gayantha Karunathikalle, told a news conference in Colombo that Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha had pledged to take disciplinary action against the CPC officials who ordered the contaminated consignment of 20,000 tonnes of petrol, but has ignored the recommendations of the very committee appointed by him.
The only conclusion that can be drawn was that some powerful forces in the government were preventing justice being meted out, he said adding that it was not surprising because waste and corruption has been the hallmark of the Mahinda Rajapakasa regime.
The public could now witness a game of musical chairs with the blame being shifted from one person to another. In the end there would be no one to account for the massive loss suffered by the CPC, Karunathillake said.
He said that a large number of vehicle engines had been damaged due to using the sub standard petrol in question, but the compensation ordered was a pittance and was totally insufficient to effect the necessary repairs.
The government was still trying to sell the war victory, but the people have had enough of public resources being squandered and would deliver a fitting verdict at the forthcoming polls to 23 local bodies to be held on October 8, Karunathillake said.
IS