Nimal, Welgama lock horns

By Gagani Weerakoon and Skandha Gunasekara-2015-12-10

Former and incumbent Transport Ministers locked horns in Parliament yesterday over the non-payment of EPF monies to SLTB employees when the final stage of the debate...... on Budget 2016 dealt with allocations to the Ministry of Transport.
Incumbent Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva alleged that SLTB members had not been paid during the tenure of Kalutara District MP Kumara Welgama as the Minister of Transport.

A heated argument ensued when MP Welgama countered the Transport Minister's allegation.
MP Welgama: "Do not talk like a baby who does not know anything."
Minister de Silva: "You are the one who talks like a baby. You talk as if nothing wrong happened during your tenure in office."
MP Welgama: Even today the SLTB is managed with the help of buses that I brought down. You know nothing. You do not know how difficult it was to bring them down.

Minister de Silva: Yes...Yes... you are the one who knows everything. We know nothing. You know so much but still could not pay the EPF and ETF contributions to the SLTB members. Now I am paying for your sins.
MP Welgama: I am accused of filling SLTB vacancies with my people. What about you. You too did the same when you were the Minister of Health. At that time even at employees at the Mathugama Hospital were from Badulla, your electorate.
Minister de Silva: I am not talking about filling SLTB vacancies. You are talking big but could not pay the EPF dues. We will somehow do what you could not do.