Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe has dismissed parts of the Auditor General’s report on the controversial coal import incident, saying certain facts presented “cannot be accepted.”
Speaking during a televised debate, the Minister stressed that the report does not establish fraud but only outlines possible scenarios.
He reiterated the government’s position that no fraud had occurred in the procurement process.
“The government’s position is that no fraud has taken place in this incident. That is what I, and our ministers, are saying,” Samarasinghe said, adding that a no‑confidence motion in Parliament under such circumstances was unwarranted.
He further argued that the Auditor General should have clearly identified any lapses in procurement procedures.
“If that is the case, the Auditor General should say in the report: here is the Procurement Commission, or under procurement conditions, this registration did not take place. Therefore, it should be said this is not relevant,” he noted.
Highlighting inconsistencies, Samarasinghe pointed to issues with deposits and documentation.
“The submission in the Auditor General’s report is wrong. There is a letter written to the bidders. When this Auditor General’s report was presented, there were 4,980 deposits made, so why put only 20 again? At that time, he took the document. When the transaction happened, only then did he know that 20 were missing. Saying the money was not properly paid is being created because of this issue,” he said.
The Minister concluded that while he does not claim the entire report is wrong, “some points, some sections in it, are wrong.” (Newswire)