Opposition members of the Parliamentary Committee investigating the release of 323 containers from Colombo Harbour without mandatory physical inspection have formally requested that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and former Ports Minister Bimal Rathnayake be called to give evidence.
In a letter to committee chair and Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, opposition MPs Ajith P. Perera, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Mujibur Rahman and D.V. Chanaka listed the President, in his capacity as Finance, Planning and Economic Development Minister, along with Rathnayake, who held the ports portfolio when the incident occurred.
The opposition has also sought the testimony of Janith Ruwan Kodithuwakku, who was Deputy Minister of Ports at the relevant time, and the then Secretary to the Ministry of Finance.
The committee was appointed to examine the circumstances surrounding the release of the 323 containers without the mandatory physical checks and to submit findings, recommendations and proposals on the incident.
The committee was due to meet on Tuesday afternoon in Parliament to decide whether to summon the requested witnesses. SJB MP Ajith P. Perera said the matter would be taken up during the session.
The 323-container probe is a separate parliamentary inquiry from the ongoing coal procurement investigation and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the coal scandal. Both inquiries are running in parallel as opposition parties press for wider accountability over commodity imports and customs procedures under the previous ministerial arrangement.
Source: Ada Derana
