The Prime Minister’s Office is dipping into the Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd kitty. A  Cabinet note submitted on August 20 voices its intention to suck out a  massive Rs 275 million–several years worth of LECO corporate social  responsibility (CSR) projects–in one go, to develop the Mihintale World  Heritage site. The move is said to [...]

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PM’s Office takes massive Rs. 275 mn from LECO to develop Mihintale

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The Prime Minister’s Office is dipping into the Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd kitty.

A  Cabinet note submitted on August 20 voices its intention to suck out a  massive Rs 275 million–several years worth of LECO corporate social  responsibility (CSR) projects–in one go, to develop the Mihintale World  Heritage site.

The move is said to have met with strong opposition from  the LECO Board. However, the Government is determined to use the funds  for the stated purpose, authoritative sources said. Details of just what  would be done with the Rs 275 million were not immediately available.

“The Cabinet noted the information provided by the Prime  Minister that the development of the Mihintale World Heritage Site, its  renovation and lighting up could be undertaken as a Corporate Social  Responsibility (CSR) Project of the Lanka Electricity Company (Private)  Limited under an expenditure of Rs. 275 million (without tax),” the list  of Cabinet decisions for the relevant week states.

The amount is particularly steep considering that the  LECO’s CSR bill for 2017 was just Rs 9 million. The money went towards  relief for natural disasters and education.

The previous year, the tab was Rs 7.8 million, spent on  providing public address systems to schools, sponsorship for social and  assisting improvements in the Electrical Department of the University of  Moratuwa. And, in 2015, the company spent Rs 5.3 million on CSR.

The total for all three years, therefore, was just Rs 22.1  million — forty percent of what is now being sought for a single  project. There are no details in the annual reports found online for CSR  projects in 2014 and 2013. But the total donations and contributions in  those two years were Rs 538,000 — Rs 233,000 of this came from the  group.

In 2012, the company granted sponsorship for educational,  cultural and social activities carried out by schools and other  organisations. The total spent was Rs 670,000.

In 2011, donations  amounted to Rs 187,000.

LECO is financially autonomous and has been called “a  benchmark model to be followed in Sri Lanka” in a recent World Bank  report on the country’s energy sector. It has managed to remain debt  free and continues to invest more than Rs 1 billion annually in  expanding the distribution network.

Its capital requirements are funded by internal cash  accruals from operations, or by receivables from outstanding loans to  the Ceylon Electricity Board and other sector stakeholders.

The CEB and the Ministry of Finance are major shareholders in LECO, with other shareholders also being State entities.

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