News
CPC oil: Billions down the drain
The Attorney General has advised the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) that taking legal action against the supplier of 20,000 tons of High Sulpher contaminated fuel oil valued at Rs. 1,140 million will be a ‘waste of money’, Parliament was informed.The Corporation had consulted the Attorney General who said the fuel specification and the tender conditions laid down for the import of high super fuel oil 1500 in this instance were not in favour of the Corporation and therefore taking legal action against the supplier would be a waste of money, a report by the Auditor General said.
Hence the Board of Directors of the CPC had taken a decision to cancel the registration of this particular supplier.The Auditor General in his report for 2010 said the CPC had entered into contracts with conditions unfavourable to it. This was among a series of other irregularities and mismanagement in the CPC which has been running into heavy losses during the past few years.
The fallout of the infamous hedging deal as well as payment of bonus to staff members of the CPC when the Corporation was incurring massive losses are among the issues highlighted in the report. The Auditor General has also revealed that the entry of the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC) into the Sri Lanka market has been done in a haphazard manner which has compromised the position of the CPC.