In Parliament on Thursday Budget - Committee Stage

Votes of the Ministry of Ports Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

( Continued from Last Week )

P. Selvaraja (TULF, Batticaloa district): The Minister has allocated 650 houses in Batticaloa. There is need for more. We have identified 10,000 widows in this district. There should be a programme to offer assistance to them.

Athauda Seneviratna, (Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways): The Trincomalee port cannot be developed to its full potential due to the war. The government has given priority to develop ports that are important to the country due to their geographical locations. Rehabilitation & reconstruction is an important part of this ministry. The government has to pay compensation now for the victims of democratic violations during the last regime. Some lost their property and I request the minister to pay compensation.

Ariyapala Walpitagama: Are you going to pay compensation to the battered Samurdhi Niyamakas? It is difficult for governments to curtail developments that take place beyond our control.

Ali Zahir Moulana (Batticaloa district): The Ministry indulges in extravagant spending on unnecessary celebrations. This spending is mainly to inflate interests of certain people. There are irregularities in the payment of compensation. The most deserving are left on the waiting list. The employees of NGOs find it extremely difficult to receive compensation. The state spends to find posh locations to distribute cheques to poor people who receive compensation.

During Mr. Dayaratna's time as Minister of Rehabilitation, compensation was paid to everybody who truly deserved it, and it was delivered to their doorsteps. Batticaloa district has been overlooked by this ministry on most of its projects.

The selection for compensation should be done by divisional secretaries who should be given the freedom to carry out their work impartially. Is it necessary to have co-ordinating officers to select deserving applicants? Some selected candidates receive fat cheques.

The vehicles ordered by the SLPA are too luxurious for the functions they have been allocated. The SLPA has placed an advertisement at a cost of Rs. 50,000 in the SLMC souvenir, published to coincide with the releasing of the audio cassette of songs written by the Minister.

Alavi Moulana (Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government): My nephew resorts to petty personal politics. My good friend, the Minister in charge of ports, holds fort in the east as well. Why is the opposition against the ethnic allocation system.

Politics have been reduced to personal attacks inflicting harm on our own rank and file and even family members. There is friction, fraction and division among the members of the same community.

R. Sampanthan (Trincomalee district): The entire allied fleet during the Second World war was berthed in the Trincomalee harbour. The potential of the harbour is great and its development is of utmost importance especially to the people of the area.

The workers in the port of Trincomalee have to pass through checkpoints to reach the Trincomalee town at 8 a.m. It is inevitable that the situation in these areas are causing much hardships.

The proposed shift of the operations division of the Trinco harbour to China Bay should be suspended in the light of security concerns.

The prospect of jobs on offer for the minorities should be improved.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara (PA - Ratnapura district) said: If the Elizabeth Quay belonged to the President, the Minister, the Deputy Minister or even myself would give it over to P&O. How can one alienate public property when one would not alienate one's own private property.

P&O is our rival. A rival, so strong that we cannot stomach it. Ultimately what would happen to our ports. They will fall into its stomach.

P&O is a commercial giant and in the final stage it would control all our ports. P&O will rather enjoy the base relief. We will not get the Rs. 2500 million the port paid in taxes to government when P&O takes over.

The Minister increased the annual Rs. 4000 million profit earned by the Port to Rs. 12,000 million. Will the P&O give this profit to us. The profits will be theirs in toto.

They are not concerned about the people of this country. By giving this massive national asset to a foreign company, we are going to enjoy only some fringe benefits.

I would say that a big chunk of money went to the hands of some people along with the transfer of the national asset to P&O. This is a fact but I would say nothing more about it.

Rajitha Senaratna (UNP, National List): I warned that the Galle harbour project will not go ahead due to its tangled tender presentations. Where is the feasibility report? The government has fallen prey to thieves in the name of privatisation. The government purchases planes and then presented Air Lanka to Emirates.

The Ports Authority is handled like the personal wealth of some. Millions are spent for celebrations. No one has wasted so much in our history as in this ministry. This is acting against the President and the Finance Ministry regulations.

The Dockyard agreement was stagnating for 4 years due to the failure to reach an agreement between both parties. Now they are refusing to pay the arrears.

The port was given to a single company when there was potential to develop the port.

Wijithamuni Soysa (PA - Moneragala district): Has anyone in the UNP the right to point an accusing fingure at the Ministers of the People's Alliance? You are the people who introduced the open market system of economy and planned to sell public assets one by one. Now you accuse the government.

Rajitha Senaratne was once our man. He later changed his party and his isms. But I want to warn you that, the day Ranil Wickremesinghe forms a government, even in fifty years, he would expel you from the party for the radical views you are trying to foist.

R. Yogarajan (CWC - Colombo district): The Minister spells out his plans for the development of the ports of Sri Lanka, in his report presented to members.

The increase in the transhipment cargo by one million is an indication of the degree of recognision our ports enjoy among the international shipping circles.

The terminal handling charge levied from local importers by shipping agents is illegal and should be done away with.

C. V. Gooneratne (Minister of Industrial Development): To meet the present economic development needs, foreign investment is necessary. The government has also encouraged private investment, to arrange a fast passenger craft service to transport passengers from Trincomalee to Pt. Pedro. The QEQ should be developed speedily under BOT. We are speaking on behalf of the Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, the main trade union in the port computer controlled information exchange - computerised documentation are being implemented. Plans are afoot to take all LCL & FCL containers out of the Colombo port to increase the area for transhipment volumes which consists 75% of our income.

As a member of the Ports Development Committee I requested the Hambantota port to be developed. One of the primary factors that contributed to the Treasury was this port.

We have initiated plans to build berths in Galle and Trincomalee to accommodate larger vessels. For Colombo to benefit from cargo it is essential that we develop the QEQ.

The port at Kankasanthurai (KKS) should be developed. We would provide a suitable ferry service catering for both cargo and passenger traffic using modern methods as ÒRo-RoÓ vessels. We could also exploit the sea-air cargo service trade which has expanded in the field of garments, electronic manufacturers, etc.

M. L. A. M. Hisbulla, (Deputy Minister of Science and Technology): We are sorry that an opposition member made serious allegations against Minister Ashraff, who has done a great deal of work for the Muslims of the Eastern Province, who have suffered due to the ethnic conflict.

He has given shelter to those whose homes were destroyed. His contribution towards the rehabilitation of the displaced people is outstanding.

Sarath Ranawaka (UNP, Kalutara district): We will demand a debate on the floor of the House when you reveal the agreement with the P&O.

What Minister C. V. Gooneratne spoke of as recommendations of trade unions were the conditions and views of the Lending Organisations which favoured the P&O take over. I will prove it with facts.

We started the work on two container terminals and after your government came in you opened them. It is the two new terminals that contributed to the increased turn out of the Colombo Port.

You are claiming your actions were the reason for the increased profits of port. But what you have done was to improve the oil terminal that was already in existence.

According to figures, the ports have recorded minus growth for the last few years. Ports are now on the verge of losing at the rate of Rs. 30 million a year.

The proposed Oluville Harbour, according to experts, is a good harbour, provided the weather remains good. It is more a weather port.

The Secretary to the Treasury, in a letter to the SLPA, has given clear instruction that no recruitment should be made except to technical grades.

With regard to the proposal to increase the salaries of port workers, the recommendation of the Treasury was that the total salary Bill should not exceed Rs. 3,230 million in 1997 and Rs. 3,553 in 1998.

Those circular instructions have been violated by the Minister.

Of the 17,103 workers of the Colombo Port, 55 percent are Sinhalese, 42 percent Muslims and only 3 precent are Tamils. The Ministry has violated the ethnic ratio applicable to appointments.

One Baboos has been appointed as Acting Security Manager of the Ports Authority. Although he is T. Z. Baboos, in his educational certificate his name is T. S. Baboos.

He has given an affidavit to Mrs. Kariyawasam. She has passed this affidavit to Mr. Ananda Perera.

This Baboos was in the Navy earlier. When he was transferred to Jaffna he reported sick and sent a medical certificate. Later he went before a Medical Board and got himself condemned, the reason was he was subject to a heart ailment.

The man who got himself condemned on ground of heart disease has now been appointed a Deputy Manager Security of the Ports Authority.

There is a recommendation by the P&O to reduce the number of employees to 8000. They are reduced by voluntary retirement and retirement at 55 years. When the recommendation is implemented Colombo Port will be an Oluville Port in all respects.

There is another racket involving a tender for construction of what is called a free port in Trincomalee. Nine companies tendered. Seven of them were dropped, one disqualified.

Then an Iranian officer wrote to the Minister about a company called Roads and Transport Consultants. The idea was to influence the Ministry to give the tender to the Iranian company, through a Cabinet paper.

There are reports that the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has appropriated Rs. 38 million out of the funds of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Jeyaraj Fernandopulle (Minister of Plan Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs): The UNP is jealous and averse to the minister with such ruthlessness as was displayed in the House today because of his ability and achievements.

The SLMC secured 9 seats during the last elections. The UNP wanted the support of this party and they are bitter because they did not receive it.

Geoff Gunawardena organised the LA, cabaret dancers and the UNP gala ball. They don't talk about those extravagancies.

The minister has put an end to sporadic violence in the east. He succeeded in wiping out discrimination. He is a qualified lawyer who has won the confidence of this government.

The opposition only talks of minus points. The dockyard was leased by the UNP and the QEQ, no one spoke about it.

We will always support Mr. Ashraff who is envied by the UNP.

Regie Ranatunga, (Deputy Minister of Ports Development Rehabilitation and Reconstruction): The port is the heart of the country's economy. The Coastal Conservation Authority is one institution under this Ministry. So is the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority. All these institutions play a vital role.

I repute the allegation that the SLMC owed millions of rupees to SLPA. The SLPA does not lend money to any one.

We do not need to give the Elizabeth Quay to the P&O if we had the money to develop the Colombo Port. We are forced to give it to P&O because we have to develop the port quickly so that the port is ready to meet the challenges ahead.

We have still not signed agreements with the P&O but we will be signing agreements in April 1999.

The work of Hambantota port has been delayed because at the moment we have to develop the Colombo port and the port of Galle.

A British firm has been entrusted with the work of preparing a feasibility report on the development of the port of Galle. When this is ready we will proceed with the rest of the work.

Minister of Ports Development, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction M. H. M. Ashraff (winding): Most of the allegations made by the Opposition against me, my Ministry and my officials were repetition of allegations made against us last year.

Therefore I do not want to go into these allegations once again. But I want to tell you that there was a televised debate between myself and Sarath Ranawaka. The people who listened to the debate would have understood the truth about the whole thing.

There are some black sheep in my Ministry who will be giving you wrong information. Let them also come and tell you how the thousands of lunch packets were provided to people participating at UNP functions out of Port Authority fund. I am not a person who is doing politics to earn money. I belong to a different pedigree. If I wanted money I could make Rs. 200,000 a day by appearing before the Supreme Court.

The SLMC owes nothing to the SLPA. I have admitted earlier that SLPA funds were used but we have refunded every cent so spent. We have repaid Rs. 600,000 in all and there is nothing more to pay.

About the Dockyard issue, why did the UNP in the first place execute the agreement with the Japanese firm on the Dockyard transaction. Nobody even knew there was such an agreement until it was accidentally found in the Attorney General's Department. The agreement had been kept a top secret. Nobody knew the conditions under which the Dockyard was sold to the Japanese firm. Not a red cent had been paid by the Japanese owner of Dockyard. In order to regularise this transaction I had to evolve guidelines.

After obtaining Cabinet approval a committee comprising the Treasury secretary, representatives of the BOI. Finance Ministry Chief valuer and my Ministry to recomend the course of action to be followed.

The report was received recently. A negoliating team was appointed. The first thing we wanted was to get the Japanes firm to acknowledge that Dockyard belongs to the Sri Lanka Port Authority. Once this was acomplished we commenced negotiations in terms of the agreement to decide upon the quantum of payment.

The UNP must know that they cannot score marks among Muslims by slinging mud at me and the SLMC.

An allegation was made by P. Dayaratne that the Deegavapi villge I carved out is now overgrown with grass. Mr. Dayaratne has one million rupees in his bank account. He should use that money and clear the grass if he is so worried about it.

The vote was passed.