Rakna Lanka contract with Avant Garde under review

Defence Ministry seeks AG’s advice on termination:

By Chathuri Dissanayake

The Ministry of Defence has sought the opinion of the Attorney General’s Department on the possibility of terminating the contract Rakna Arakshaka Lanka (RALL) has signed with the controversial private maritime security services company, Avant Garde. “We are in the process of evaluating the possibility of terminating the said contract. All documents relating to the agreement have been sent to the AG’s Department for assessment. We will also have to wait for the outcome of the ongoing CID investigation,” Secretary of Defence, K. Hettiarachchi said. He also said at present, the Government has taken no steps to terminate the contract, although the Sri Lanka Navy has been directed to take over the handling of arms stored in the floating armouries managed by Avant Garde due to national security concerns.

The agreement signed in January last year makes Rakna Arakshaka Lanka (RALL), the government-owned company, liable to pay Avant Garde US$20 in the event the contract is breached by RALL. A further amount of US$20 million is payable by RALL to Avant Garde as “liquidated damages not as a penalty.”

The agreement further established the public - private partnership amalgamating six different projects conducted by Avant Garde in partnership with RALL, namely:

a.Armouries project inter Alia Forward Operation Centres established in other countries including but not floating armouries and not limited to Fujairah and the Red Sea,

b.Fishing Trawlers project

c.Galle Floating Amoury Project

4.Air and Sea Transportation of Weapons Project

5.Unarmed Sea Marshals Project

6.Rangala Weapons Depository Project.

The agreement also gives the private company exclusivity in the saidfields.

Chairman of Avant Garde, ex-military officer Nishanka Senadhipathi is currently overseas and was not available for comment.

Senior Manager of Commercial Operations of the company, Nilantha Jayaweera said, the company will first seek to discuss with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe before taking legal action.