Dearth of staff hits COPE

By Isuri Kaviratne

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) is severely constrained due to lack of staff, delaying both investigations and the issuing of reports, COPE Chairman Sunil Handunnetti said.

COPE at present has only five staff members and is crippled by the lack of resources to facilitate the vital parliamentary committee.

At present, COPE is scrutinising the 25 State-owned enterprises but fear serious delays in conducting investigations and the release of reports, Handunnetti told the Sunday Observer.

COPE has prioritised five institutions fur urgent study: Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), SriLankan Airlines, Rakna Arakshaka Lanka, Central Bank and the Lanka Puthra Bank, due to their economic significance to the public. The reports are due next month.

He said the CEB was under intense scrutiny due to repetitive power failures amid speculation of sabotage. SriLankan Airlines is also under scrutiny due to its loss-making status and debt burden which has resulted in recommendations being made to merge with other aviation companies.

"There are several issues that require Rakna Arakshaka Lanka to be probed, primarily its nexus with Avant Garde (Pvt) Ltd," he added.

Handunnetti averred that some agreements signed by Rakna Arakshaka Lanka have been deemed illegal while Lanka Puthra Bank is being studied for its own banking practices.

Meanwhile, he said the investigation on the Central Bank bond issue, initiated by a 13-member Special Parliamentary Investigation Committee, too will be taken forward by COPE.

Instead of the previous practice of issuing one consolidated report on about 200 institutions that come under its purview, this year, COPE intends issuing individual reports on the select number of institutions, numbering 25.

However, the investigations are seriously hampered by the lack of staff, despite a May deadline for some reports, Handunnetti said.