2 July 2022 08:34 am
The senior management of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has been quizzed by the President and Finance Ministry as to why a fuel shipment has not been ordered before July 22 even after being informed that the funds are ready to be released by the treasury, the Daily Mirror learns.
In a meeting held last week between the President, treasury officials and CPC management, the CPC was quizzed as to why an order had not been placed for fuel at its earliest despite the funds being ready for immediate purchase.the CPC had replied that the premiums to be paid were high which is why they were awaiting the next fuel shipment to arrive on July 22.
The discussion then led to a heated argument with treasury officials questioning the CPC as to how they could consider high premiums as an excuse when the CPC had run out of fuel leading to the country coming to a virtual halt.
The CPC was also informed that when they attempted to pay lesser premiums and place an order last month, the vessel never arrived which led to the severe shortage across the country.
Finance Ministry officials also questioned the CPC as to why they were now delaying placing the new orders when the treasury was ready to release the funds, including the premium fee to get a fuel shipment from a reputed company as soon as possible. As of last evening, the Daily Mirror learns that the next fuel shipment is due to arrive only on July 22 by which time the country will come to a complete halt. No fresh orders have been placed before that leading to a query as to why the shipment was not being ordered now that the funds were in hand.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week instructed the treasury to immediately release the funds to place an order for the fuel shipment without further delay as millions continue to languish in queues outside fuel stations for days.(JAMILA HUSAIN)