The No-Confidence Motion filed against Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila by the Opposition is a baseless document with a bunch of errors like a child's letter, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.
He was speaking at a press conference yesterday.
According to the No-Confidence Motion filed by the Opposition, there are 10 allegations against Minister Udaya Gammanpila, the first allegation is that, as stated by the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Sagara Kariyawasam, the fuel price was increased without the approval of the Cabinet. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that a Cabinet panel comprising him and the Prime Minister has decided to increase fuel prices. According to Section 66 of the Petroleum Corporation Act No. 28 of 1961, fuel prices can be increased with the consent of the Finance Minister. Cabinet approval will not be sought for this and the Cabinet has never increased fuel prices, he said.
“Although a fund called the Price Stabilization Fund was established in March 2020, it was not really a Price Stabilization Fund. What happens with a Price Stabilization Fund is that part of the benefit of decreasing prices is transferred to a Price Stabilization Fund and that money is invested and when the price of fuel increases, the Fund will keep the price of fuel stable by covering the losses incurred by the companies selling fuel. But in 2020 there was no such fund.”
The revenue of the Government in 2020 was severely affected. The tourism industry collapsed to zero. Foreign investment stopped. Tens of thousands of migrant workers come to Sri Lanka. The Exchange Rate fell. The importation of vehicles that pay a hefty tax has gone down.
“As Government’s revenue plummeted, COViD-19 pandemic caused an additional cost of nearly 300 billion rupees. At the same time, money should be spent to build roads for education, health and transportation. Therefore, the fuel tax revenue was used to cover those expenses. This fund of Rs. 48 billion was given as a grant to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to stop the increase in electricity tariffs. The Opposition alleges that Parliament and the people were not told what happened to the Price Stabilization Fund. Although the Opposition did not see it, it is in the Central Bank report. I did not create a fund called the other one price stabilization fund. At least not from my department, so why ask me about it?
“Another allegation is that the Government failed to fulfill the promises made at the time of its appointment; I have not made any promises to the people. so why should I resign? The Government was elected for five years and at the end of that period, the decision on the Government should be taken by the people and not the Opposition.”
All 10 allegations are baseless, meaning there are no allegations. None of these 10 allegations mention any wrongdoing on my part, he said.