Coal tender paved way for serious corruption: Pubudu Jayagoda

Colombo, Sept. 28 (Daily Mirror) - The tender for the import of coal required for power generation in Sri Lanka has paved the way for serious corruption, FrontLine Socialist Party (FLSP) Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda alleged today.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Uttaraya Api” held at Bendiwewa, Polonnaruwa, he said the coal supply tender, which was opened on September 15, had been awarded to Trident Chemphar, the company that submitted the lowest bid.

Mr. Jayagoda charged that the procurement guidelines appeared to have been altered to favour the company. “According to the 2021 Sri Lanka Coal Registration Document, companies were required to have a minimum coal reserve of one million metric tons with a GCV of 5900 kCal/kg. But in the 2025 document, the requirement was reduced to just 100,000 metric tons — a 90% drop. This is highly suspicious,” he said.

He also pointed to past allegations against Trident Chemphar. An Auditor General’s report submitted to the Public Enterprises Committee in 2016 revealed that the company had violated procurement rules when supplying 30,000 metric tons of rice to Sathosa in 2014.

In addition, one of the company’s owners, Sarath Chandra Reddy, was arrested in New Delhi in 2022 over a money laundering case linked to an excise duty scam. Its local representative, Sarath Bandara Jayasundara, a former cricket talent analyst, had also been banned for seven years by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2019 over match-fixing allegations.

“Despite this track record, the coal tender was awarded to this company. This shows how procurement guidelines were manipulated. Corruption in Sri Lanka is not only driven by politicians but by a network of senior officials and racketeering businesses. Today, this network operates even without political figures,” Mr. Jayagoda said.

He questioned why the government delayed the tender, which is normally called in March, until July, despite electricity being declared an essential service. He further noted that the government conveniently overlooked the “essential service” tag when relaxing coal procurement rules, discouraging rooftop solar projects, or raising electricity tariffs to unbearable levels.

“This coal tender scandal alone is enough to ask whose side this government is truly on,” he said.