Energy Minister used as a scapegoat to cover up breach of trust by the Cabinet: Joint Opposition

Colombo, April 20 (Daily Mirror) - The resignation of Power and Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody is an attempt to cover up a serious breach of collective responsibility by the Cabinet, the Joint Opposition said.

"The coal power supply contract has been given to a company which was not registered at the time of award. Besides, inferior quality coal were found in a number of shipments. One cannot believe that all these decisions were made by the minister alone. Also, the procedures were amended to fulfill a certain objective" a statement from the Joint Opposition said.

The procedure was amended by the Cabinet, which includes President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Therefore, it is clear that there has been a breach of collective responsibility by the Cabinet. It is clear that Minister Jayakody was made to resign to cover up this fact, it added

The statement further said: The resignation of the minister will not have any impact on the probes carried out by the Presidential Commission appointed to probe the coal procurement scam. The inferior quality coal had created environmental hazards as well. Therefore, the claim that the minister's resignation would ensure a proper probe is unacceptable. The resignation, however, confirms that there has been a serious scam. Also, the Auditor General's report has come up with many disclosures. This was possible because there was an independent Auditor General in place.

The Opposition said "it was clear that an effort was made to appoint someone who is loyal to the government to the Auditor General's post. However, the Constitutional Council prevented this move. There are legal provisions to deal with those who are responsible for the scam. There is a verdict given by the Supreme Court that could be used. It also has to be recalled that 153 MPs from the government defended Minister Jayakody when the no-confidence motion was presented to Parliament. Some government MPs insisted that there had not been any scam during the debate on the no-confidence motion. Furthermore, the people should remember that those who used to reside at MPs' quarters in the past, claiming they did not have a place to dwell, have become millionaires today."