In a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the procurement of substandard antibody vaccines, former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella acknowledged before the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court that he had misled the Cabinet by presenting a false claim of an impending shortage of medicines in Sri Lanka. This admission was made during the court hearing on the 29th of November, related to the case involving the controversial purchase of low-quality vaccines.
Rambukwella’s admission came after it was revealed that he had presented a cabinet paper that suggested a crisis in the country’s healthcare system, claiming that the situation would deteriorate within a week unless immediate steps were taken to procure essential medicines. The Deputy Solicitor General, Lakmini Girihagama, who appeared for the Attorney General’s office, disclosed that the former ministers who had approved the cabinet paper, including prominent figures such as Nimal Siripala de Silva, Douglas Devananda, Bandula Gunawardena, and Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, based their approval on the false premise presented by Rambukwella.
The court was informed that the Cabinet ministers had believed the health sector was on the brink of collapse due to the supposed medicine shortage, which led to the rapid approval of the procurement process. However, it has now emerged that the claim of an imminent crisis was misleading, leading to a series of questionable decisions.
Furthermore, Deputy Solicitor General Girihagama revealed that statements were also recorded from additional key figures, including former ministers Harin Fernando, Ramesh Pathirana, Prasanna Ranatunga, Vidura Wickremanayake, Kanchana Wijesekera, and Nasir Ahmed. These ministers reportedly confirmed that they acted based on the belief that immediate action was needed to avoid a public health disaster. The approval of the cabinet paper was thus granted on the false assurances provided by Rambukwella.
The court was also informed that statements would be taken from former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and several other political leaders, including Susil Premajayantha and Mahinda Amaraweera, to further understand the dynamics behind the approval of the cabinet paper and the decisions taken during the crisis.
This latest development in the case highlights growing concerns over the transparency and integrity of the decision-making processes within the previous government, particularly concerning the procurement of medical supplies. The case continues to unravel significant questions about the management of public funds and the potential misallocation of resources at a time when Sri Lanka’s healthcare system was under immense strain.
