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Energy Minister Gammanpila: The man at the centre of the NCM

If the objective behind the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) on Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila was to further exploit fractures that were publicly opening up within the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led government, then the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)’s efforts failed in embarrassing fashion this week.

The result at the end of a two-day debate saw the Government again displaying to the opposition and the country that its two-thirds Parliamentary majority was still very much intact, as the NCM was comfortably defeated by a majority of 91 votes, with 152 voting against and only 61 voting for.

On Monday, United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed amendments to the SJB’s motion to convert it into an NCM against the entire Cabinet.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena rejected the amendments on the grounds that they were irrelevant, while noting that the SJB  had not indicated in the motion that it could finally be converted as an NCM on the Cabinet, which is the Government.

Opening the debate, SJB Colombo District MP S.M. Marikkar said Minister Gammanpila was facing the NCM because he had increased fuel prices without any justification at a time when the people were already facing severe financial difficulties owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He questioned government backbenchers who had criticised Mr Gammanpila publicly after the fuel price hike what they had to say now. “Though you came before the media and criticised the price hike, you are now forced to raise your hands in support of the decision to place more burdens on the people. Our intention in bringing this motion is to expose your nakedness.”

Joining in, SJB stalward and Kegalle District Parliamentarian Kabir Hashim said SLPP MPs who had publicly criticised Mr Gammanpila for the fuel price hike could not vote to defeat the motion if they acted according to their conscience.

“We will be winners whether this motion is passed or defeated. The motion was submitted on behalf of the people victimized by the fuel price hike. If SLPP MPs now vote to defeat it, they will be betraying the aspirations of 6.9 million voters who voted for their government,” he said.

Responding on behalf of the Government, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena stated the country’s entire tax revenue in 2020 was just Rs 1,216 billion, of which Rs 1,051 billion was spent on salaries, increments and pensions of government employees. “This leaves us with just Rs 165 billion. How can we do everything else such as paying Samurdhi beneficiaries, repaying loans, and meeting other welfare requirements with just Rs 165 billion? How can we maintain infrastructure facilities such as electricity, water and roads?”

He charged that the previous Yahapalana government, even in the absence of a pandemic, failed to give any relief to the people when world oil prices had fallen. He described the fuel price hike as a “necessary management requirement” necessitated by economic mismanagement of the previous government, coupled with the twin economic hits brought on by the Easter Sunday attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic have resulted in loss of revenue on many fronts, Justice Minister Ali Sabry pointed out. “We have lost customs revenue owing to restrictions on imports, excise revenue was lost completely while revenue from income tax was also hit. No tourists could come. The money earned (from fuel price hike) will go back to the people in the form of relief and to create a safety net for them in these difficult times,” he claimed.

Countering the government justifications for the fuel price hike was SJB’s Colombo District Parliamentarian Patali Champika Ranawaka. He said one of the main reasons for the country’s economic crisis was that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) had failed to pay back the dollar bills it owed to state banks.

“According to the Energy Ministry Secretary, the amount in unpaid dollar bills for letters of credit as at last month was nearly USD 3400 million. As such, the main reason for the dollar shortage that has made it difficult to import medicines, fertilizer, coal and oil is due to this issue created by the CPC.”

He warned that the country could face an electricity crisis and food shortages in the coming months if the situation was not brought under control.

Scoffing at the SJB move, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the opposition believed that the NCM would create splits within the Government, and was hoping that the Government would lose its two-thrids parliamentary majority. “You didn’t bring this motion out of concern for the people. You were hoping for an explosion within the Government, but in reality, it has only further strengthened the ruling alliance.”

The NCM is purely motivated by petty politics as Minister Gammanpila had not committed an offence, House Leader and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said. “The minister merely announced the decision (on fuel price hike) that had been agreed upon by a Cabinet sub-committee which included the Prime Minister in his capacity as Finance Minister and other Cabinet Ministers. As such, this motion is completely baseless.”

He pointed out that many previous governments had taken such decisions during times of global oil crisis or economic crises in the country.

Former President and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Leader Maithripala Sirisena said the NCM’s contents did not justify the need to remove Mr Gammanpila from his ministerial post.

“We could have considered it if the NCM contained allegations of corruption or serious wrongdoing,” Mr Sirisena observed. “Every government has faced the problem of rising fuel prices. Raising fuel prices is not a good enough reason to remove Mr Gammanpila. We are fully aware that a price increase will create economic difficulties for the people. It’s not something any government wants to do,” Mr Sirisena said, adding that the SLFP would vote against the motion.

National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake termed the motion as a “media event.” He opined that the SJBers had been foolish to assume that public statements made by various SLPP MPs criticising Minister Gammanpila would give them an advantage when it came to such a motion.

“Cracks were starting to appear in the Government as MPs from various constituent parties were publicly voicing their grievances against the SLPP and its de facto leader Basil Rajapaksa. But what did this motion do? It has sealed the mouths of those same MPs and has forced them to support the minister to safeguard their own futures. Therefore, the decision to submit this motion was politically foolish. Politics is not a media event. Those who submitted this must understand that,” Mr Dissanayake noted.

He, however, said Mr Gammanpila could not escape the charge that he and the Government did not keep their promise to maintain the fuel stabilisation fund from the money saved by not reducing fuel prices when world oil prices plummeted. “Instead, the money meant for the fund went into paying bills owed to the Ceylon Electricity Board and for Treasury bills.”

He also alleged that Mr Gammanpila had spent Rs 15 million from funds belonging to Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals (CPSTL) Ltd. to carry out renovations on his official residence. The NPP Leader said his party would support the motion against the minister based on the facts that his actions led to a situation where the Government had no other option but to raise fuel prices.

While Mr Gammanpila was one of those responsible for the fuel price hike, the final decision rests with the Finance Minister, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe stated, explaining his reasons for trying to convert the motion into a no-confidence vote on the entire Cabinet. “It has also been stated that the decision was discussed by the Cabinet Sub Committee on the Cost of Living. That shows that more ministers in the Cabinet took part in making this decision. The new Finance Minister (Basil Rajapaksa) too should be included in this since despite earlier assurances, the Government did not reduce fuel prices after he was made minister.”

“Since oil prices have risen, it has worsened the country’s economic crisis, while this has resulted in the need to raise fuel prices. These are interconnected and as such, the entire Cabinet must be held responsible for this. The CPC has defaulted on billions of dollars in loans. The other reason for the rise in fuel prices is the depreciation of the rupee. That is due to the actions of the Finance Minister and his ministry. We have now printed more money than we did during the entire period from 2010 to 2019,” Mr Wickremesinghe claimed.

Industries Minister Wimal Weerawansa said the entire world was now undergoing a difficult period and Sri Lanka was no exception. “This is worse than it was during the war. At least then, tourists still came and we had remittances from our migrant workers. The Government is still managing the crisis as efficiently as possible despite all these obstacles.”

Responding to the opposition charges, the main in the centre of the NCM, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila, said none of the SJB MPs who had signed the NCM against him even had a basic idea about the nature of the charges. “The CPC Act allows for fuel prices to be raised with the consent of the Finance Minister. Therefore, the charge that prices were raised without cabinet approval has no basis since nowhere in history has the Cabinet acted to raise fuel prices,” he argued.

“They also claim that I have not fulfilled the pledge that the advantage of the falling fuel prices in the world market would be given to the people by reducing the prices of essential goods. Another claim in the NCM is that I have failed to honour the pledge not to raise fuel prices within two years based on such price advantage. I made no such pledges. However, it must be pointed out that we managed to hold off on a fuel hike for 21 months. Why are they bringing an NCM against me based on pledges I never gave?”

He termed the entire NCM to have been based on lies. “They know well that none of these charges is true, yet they still went ahead and signed it, then had their photos taken when handing it over to the Speaker. It was all quite shameless.”

“Back in June, I told the opposition to offer an alternative to raising fuel prices and stressed that we were prepared to accept a viable alternative should they present it. It has been more than a month now but they are yet to do so. This shows that even they accept that there is no alternative to raising fuel prices,” he remarked.

Concluding, he claimed that the charges against him will be thrown to the dustbin and that history will vindicate his decision.