AKD raises concerns regarding controversial LNG deal

COLOMBO (News 1st); Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Anura Kumara Dissanayake raised concerns regarding the controversial LNG deal in Parliament today (22). Presenting two Cabinet papers proposed by the Minister of Finance, Dissanayake says that the framework agreement is attached to one Cabinet paper, while a recommendation to grant rights to the Secretary to Ministry of Finance, S.R. Attygalle has also been attached to the cabinet paper. However, the JVP Leader points out that the Cabinet has granted approval for the Secretary of the Finance Ministry to sign the agreement without the documents ever being presented before the Cabinet. Responding to this, the Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge said that the signed framework agreement was presented to the Cabinet on 05th of July 2021 and was signed on 17th of September 2021. He further stated that the share transfer and purchase agreement will be tabled in Parliament following legal clearance. Meanwhile, Dissanayake inquired as to how the Finance Secretary is more powerful than the Parliament, and allegedly has more knowledge about the agreement than the Parliament, to which Minister Lokuge said that he had seen the agreement previously at the Cabinet briefings. Thereafter, Dissanayake revealed that it was only the framework of the agreement that was presented to the Cabinet, and not even the signed agreement, to which Minister Gamini Lokuge stated that he will look into the matter in the future.