By: Staff Writer
August 09, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s coal procurement controversy is exposing a dangerous weakness at the heart of the power sector: when procurement decisions fail, the cost does not remain inside a government file. It eventually reaches the power plant, the electricity system and the taxpayer.
The Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee’s latest intervention raises the stakes. Nineteen shipments received from the same South African supplier during a seven-month period were reportedly found to be substandard. Earlier revelations had put losses from nine shipments at Rs.8.5 billion. The Committee has now demanded a full assessment covering all 19 shipments.
That figure should not be treated as the final bill.
Investigators must determine whether the financial damage includes additional fuel costs, reduced generation efficiency, plant maintenance, premature equipment deterioration and other consequences at the Lakvijaya Power Plant. The Committee has specifically called for wear and tear to be included in the assessment.
But money is only one part of the investigation.
The more troubling issue is whether weaknesses in the procurement system allowed a defective supply chain to continue. If allegations of tender manipulation or procurement irregularities exist, they must be tested against the documentary evidence rather than dismissed as political accusations or buried under bureaucratic procedure.
Who evaluated the tenders? What technical standards were applied? How coal samples were independently tested? Who certified the shipments? Were warnings raised internally? Were quality failures detected before unloading or only after the coal had entered the power-generation process?
Those questions should lead investigators through the entire procurement chain.
The reported penalties US$36.5 million for substandard coal and a further US$611,000 for delayed deliveriesalso require scrutiny. Penalties can compensate a government contractually, but they do not automatically restore lost generation capacity, repair damaged equipment or explain how defective fuel reached the national power system in the first place.
There is another risk emerging from the current situation. Existing coal stocks are expected to be exhausted by mid-September, while Cabinet approval for fresh tenders required from October has reportedly been delayed.
That deadline must not become a pretext for another procurement process conducted under pressure. Emergency requirements can create precisely the environment in which transparency is weakened and scrutiny is compressed.
Sri Lanka therefore needs two tracks of action: secure uninterrupted, properly tested coal supplies, and simultaneously complete the accountability process surrounding the disputed procurements.
Any special commission investigation already established must be allowed to complete its work promptly. Law-enforcement authorities should pursue evidence wherever it leads, including procurement decisions, financial transactions, technical certifications and possible conflicts of interest.
The objective should not be political revenge. It should be institutional accountability.
If criminal conduct is proven, prosecutions should follow. If officials acted negligently, administrative and financial responsibility must be imposed. And if procurement rules were exploited or manipulated, the system itself must be repaired.
Most importantly, the investigations cannot become another Sri Lankan case file that survives for years while public memory fades.
Coal may keep the turbines running. But only accountability can keep the system from repeating the same failure.
The post Tender Delays, Substandard Coal and the Accountability Test appeared first on LNW Lanka News Web.
