Information was revealed in the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE Committee) that Lanka Sathosa Institute had incurred a loss of 1500 crore rupees by December 31, 2021.
The COPE committee stated that the loss incurred by that institution in the year 2022 alone is sixty crore rupees
A loss of 600 crore rupees was also discussed in the COPE committee during the importation of rice to Lanka Sathosa Institute.
It was also stated that this loss had occurred due to the expiry of stocks of rice brought for human consumption and sold for animal feed.
Accordingly, the COPE Committee decided to discuss this further in the future.
The committee pointed out the need to prepare a business model suitable for Lanka Sathosa and make it profitable.
To inquire about the performance of Lanka Sathosa Institute, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises met at the Parliament Complex under the chairmanship of its Chairman, Member of Parliament Prof. Ranjith Bandara. This information was revealed in that meeting.
Lanka Sathosa Institute has a concrete plan for 2021-24 but it has not been approved by the Ministry. Thus, the chairman of the committee informed the officials to prepare a comprehensive plan till 2028 and report on its activities within 2 months. He also advised to prepare an action plan simultaneously.
The committee also decided to discuss separately the loss of 600 crore rupees in the importation of rice.
It was discussed in the committee that Sri Lanka Sathosa Company has missed the opportunity to sell products at low prices to the customers and to get more profit for the company due to buying and selling products from Petakoto instead of selling imported products.
Also, the officials explained the facts about the loss due to the delay in receiving the money even though the goods are imported based on the policy decisions taken by the government.
The Auditor General also pointed out the internal control weaknesses as well as the need to appoint this institution under a business model that can make decisions independently without external interference.
Also, the need to attract more customers to Lanka Sathosa stores was also emphasized in the committee
Information was also revealed that there are 1123 employee vacancies in the institution.
It was also decided to recall the leaders of Lanka Sathosa Institute on August 22.
This meeting was attended by MPs Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Nimal Lanza, Jayantha Samaraweera, S. M . M Musharraf, SM Marikkar, Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Shanakkian Rasamanikkam, Madhura Withanage and Prof. Charita Herath participated.
( Lankadeepa )