NO CONFIDENCE MOTION AGAINST MANGALA(98 Jul 08)
The UNP has handed over a motion of no confidence to the speaker and the secretary general of the parliament against Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Media. It is said that the minister has used a credit card obtained through the Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd., which comes under the ministry of Telecommunications. Among those who have signed the motion are Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and Messrs. W. J. M. Lokubandara and Kabir Hashim.
According to the no confidence motion Mr. Samaraweera has utilised the credit card for the purchase of duty free liquor and tobacco and hotel & restaurant bills all incurred locally and not for official expenses while abroad. It is also said that the credit card has also been used for the viewing of obscene material on the internet. The motion further states that a sum of over Rs. 270,000 incurred on account of the credit card has been paid for through the personal funds of the chief executive officer of the Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd.
Hopefully the motion will be debated in the parliament. However no serious discussion would emerge and it would end up as a mud-slinging contest between the government and the opposition. The PA will repeat what they have already said about the seventeen-year rule of the UNP. What will transpire is that the politicians not only sell the assets of the country to the foreigners but they get huge commissions and perks in the form of credit cards, trips abroad etc. Thirty percent of the shares of the Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd. has already been sold to a Japanese company.