Namal gears to extort graphite worth billions of rupees

Wednesday, 02 January 2013

President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ordered the Secretary of the State Resources and Enterprise Development Ministry, Willie Gamage to sell a stock of graphite worth billions of rupees to a Tamil businessman declaring it to be “scrap material.”

It is the Basnayake Nilame of the Devundara Vishnu Devala and Managing Director of Lanka Mineral Sands Limited, Dishan Wickremaratne Gunasekera who has given the tip about the graphite to parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa. Gunasekera had introduced the Tamil businessman to Namal Rajapaksa.

Willie Gamage had sought the advice of the Finance Ministry on the Presidential order to sell the graphite to the Tamil businessman without calling for any tenders. Finance Ministry officials have said that the graphite stock could not be sold without calling tenders.

State Resources and Enterprise Development Minister Dayasritha Tissera had handed over a cheque for Rs. 100 million to Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama from the profits earned by selling another graphite stock after calling for tenders last November.

The cheque was presented at an event held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Instituted to create awareness on the progress made by Lanka Mineral Sands Limited. Officials from the Finance Ministry have warned Willie Gamage that allowing sales to take place without calling for tenders in a company that has paid millions of rupees as dividends from its profits was dangerous.

Disturbed by the Finance Ministry warning, Gamage had prepared a Cabinet memorandum with Minister Tissera’s signature to be presented for Cabinet approval.

The President had taken steps to surreptitiously slip the memorandum into the Cabinet meeting and receive the approval. However, sources say that the President is angry that Gamage had presented a Cabinet paper without following his direct orders.

The President had summoned Director of the President’s Media Unit, Mahinda Illeperuma and ordered him to carry out a campaign against Gamage through the private media. Illeperuma had summoned a journalist from a leading weekly national newspaper and given a file containing details about Gamage. Therefore, Gamage is likely to come under attack in the media this weekend.

President Rajapaksa and Gamage hail from the same village and have been close friends for many years. Mahinda Rajapaksa had provided a safe heaven at his Colombo residence for Gamage when he was a student activist of the JVP in 1971. After Rajapaksa assumed office, Gamage became more powerful than even some Cabinet ministers. However, the Rajapaksa are now displeased that Gamage had made several critical comments about them.