News
UNP MPs want probe by select committee also
UNP Parliamentarians have given notice of a motion to set up a Select Committee to probe issues pertaining to deliberate violation of government approved procurement procedures in purchase and leasing of aircraft resulting in enormous losses to SriLankan and Mihin Lanka Airlines during the former regime.
The motion signed by 11 UNP MPs has been handed over to the Secretary General of Parliament. The MPs want a probe on the action taken subsequent to a decision by the Cabinet of Ministers on July 27, 2011 to invest US$ 520 million in the equity capital over five years.
The motion states that the Treasury was authorised at the time to issue a sovereign guarantee of US$ 270 million immediately to obtain bridging finance facilities from local/foreign banks or financial institutions following which the two airlines had initiated the fleet renewal process in 2012 in terms of the business plan prepared by them.
SriLankan Airlines had carried out negotiations with Airbus, Boeing, Rolls Royce and General Electric and a decision was made to purchase six A330-300 aircraft with Trent 700 engines and fourA350-900 aircraft with Trent XWB engines directly from Airbus. A decision was also made to lease three additional A350-900 aircraft to be delivered in 2017. Subsequently, SriLankan Airlines had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus to purchase A350 aircraft followed by signing the Purchase Agreement relating to the A350-900 aircraft in June 2013.
SriLankan Airlines had then decided to source another A350-900 aircraft in September 2014 considering the aircraft requirement beyond 2015 and planned new routes. Accordingly, the number of total A350-900 aircraft in SriLankan Airline’s fleet had increased to eight.
The Airlines had carried out a selection process by inviting proposals from aircraft lessors in leasing these aircraft and a company named AetCap had eventually been selected. The motion alleges that the purchase and rental amounts were undertaken by SriLanka significantly above current market values and that none of these aircraft could be operated profitably by SriLankan.
The Select Committee is to probe whether the decisions taken by the then management of SriLankan Airlines resulted in enormous losses to the Airlines and the country, if the then management had acted in total disregard of government approved procurement procedures. The MPs also want the committee to probe whether anyone received kickbacks for this transaction and to identity individuals responsible for these losses.
The motion was handed in by UNP MP (National List) Jayampathy Wickramaratne and is signed by MPs (Prof.) Ashu Marasinghe, Imran Maharoof, Mujibur Rahuman, Chaminda Wijesiri, Heshan Withanage, Sandith Samarasinghe, Ishak Rahuman, Chandima Gamage, Ashoka Priyantha and Velu Kumar. The Speaker is yet to name members to the Select Committee.