Former minister Patali Champika warns that the government’s promise of keeping new electricity companies state-owned is a lie, claiming they can be sold off anytime, while slamming decades of union corruption and political betrayal.
Former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has strongly criticized the government’s proposal to restructure the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), claiming that the so-called “state-owned companies” created under the plan can be sold at any time.
Speaking on the controversial reforms, Ranawaka reminded that the original idea of splitting the CEB was first brought forward in 2002 by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Since then, he alleged, JVP trade unions have fought against it for over 25 years while collecting hundreds of millions of rupees from workers. According to him, each CEB employee has been forced to contribute Rs. 200 per month for the party funds of these unions.
Ranawaka also pointed out that more than 6,000 manpower employees, confirmed in 2015 by former President Maithripala Sirisena, later had to be retired with compensation ultimately paid by electricity consumers. He warned that all 7 million electricity consumers in Sri Lanka should oppose the restructuring plan, which he claims will only increase financial burdens on the public.
In a direct jab at President Anura Dissanayake, Ranawaka said that rather than threatening CEB workers, the President should apologize to the people and return the hundreds of millions of rupees taken from electricity employees over the years.
He further accused the government of deliberately misleading the public by claiming the new power companies would remain under state control, while the legal framework has been drafted in such a way that shares can be sold off whenever convenient.
