Upright Institutions Needed For Sri Lanka’s Recovery

   [drJehan Perera]

With elections and a change of government in one way or the other imminent, the independent institutions of state vested with authority to monitor, and provide a check and balance to government, are vindicating their existence. The reports of the Auditor General over the years has been a testament to the diligence with which public officials empowered with a mandate pursue their tasks and find out the misuse of resources that has taken place. One of its reports is on a petroleum scam that has gone on for years and has come up before the Committee on Public Enterprises in parliament. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has refused approval to award procurement of the 484 MW wind power plant in Mannar and Pooneryn to Adani Green Energy SL Ltd. (AGESL), saying the information submitted to it by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) was not adequate to assess least cost and technical compatibility.

The Adani wind power scheme was initially promoted as a government-to-government agreement to justify its lack of transparency. The project secures a wide swathe of the Sri Lankan coast which is at the closest point to neighbouring India. It is therefore of strategic significance to India as it places that extent of the Sri Lankan coast in the hands of one of its biggest business conglomerates and out of the grasp of foreign powers that may be hostile to India. The Adani group’s sharp business practices have been controversial in India. In Sri Lanka, which has less experie...