Leader of the House and Healthcare Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva tabling the documents related to the procurement of equipment from a company owned by the son-in- law of Retired General Sarath Fonseka in Parliament yesterday said the lowest tender for the equipment to the Army was turned down unethically rejected to allow buy them from Fonseka’s son-in-law.

At the end of the Emergency debate he tabled the certificate of incorporation of Hycop Company and the copies of the website of the corporate partner British Borneo, a defence supplies company in Australia. Documents of the change of name of the company with the address 175/1 Gold Drive, Oklahoma the address of Retired General Sarath Fonseka’s US Green Card and a document giving the invoice for 134,667 US dollars, and the document showing that the amount was sent to the above US address were also tabled.

He said there was an investigation by the US authorities about a forged signature in the documents of changing the name of the company in question and the son-in-law had got involved in supplying equipment to the army only after Sarath Fonseka became the Army Commander. There were more such facts that would be placed before the people as these persons who were talking about eradicating corruption were more corrupt than all the others the Leader of the House said.

Speaking at the debate, Power Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that the Government will give 24 hours to the JVP to prove that Sarath Fonseka was never involved in any corrupt arms deals or accept the fact that the party too was supporting a corrupt candidate.

The Minister said that Fonseka had powers to carry out procurement of arms below Rs 25 million. As the Chief of Defence Staff he was the Chairman of the Board passing tenders for procuring arms and ammunition.

The Minister tabled a document detailing arms purchasing made by General Fonseka and invited JVP Group Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake to read it.

We give you 24 hours to read these documents and decide whether the candidate that you are supporting is full of corruption or not.
“If they are true and honest as they describe themselves, they must resign from the campaign supporting Fonseka. If not they too will be called a bunch of thieves,” he said.

He also challenged the Opposition which goes all over the country making allegations to the effect that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers involved in corrupt deals to produce any documentary evidence, so that the entire Cabinet of Ministers will resign forthwith
 

JNP leader Wimal Weerawansa said that the JVP has now become the defender of corruption. The sacrosanct gentlemen of that party were carrying on their shoulders a Presidential Candidate who had used his position to award tenders for the purchase of equipment from a company owned by his son-in-law, Weerawansa said in Parliament.

Joining the debate on the extension of Emergency, Weerawansa said he had the vouchers, bills and amounts paid to the son-in-law’s company and the account numbers in the US though the JVP was pulling a red herring across the public eye to say the company Hycop had no contract to supply goods to the Army.

That company had tied up with an Australia based company British Borneo and the son-in-law had registered that company in the US with forged documents.

All the monies were sent to that company with a different address of registration but that address was of a friend of Sarath Fonseka’s daughter though the son-in-law owned it.

Weerawansa tabled the vouchers, account numbers and the bills and the documents regarding the registration of the company in issue.

The JVP was now trying to tell the public that their objective was to eradicate corruption but how could such a corrupt individual who used his position to engage in corrupt practices be trusted to do what he now promises. Today only the JVP attempted to defend Sarath Fonseka in Parliament but the UNP was silent on it. For the corruption of the UNP was so high that they cannot stand up to defend other corrupt individuals, he noted.

Taking part in the Emergency Debate, Engineering Services and Construction Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said there was clear evidence that a company owned by the son-in-law of the Presidential election candidate Sarath Fonseka had been given a number of contracts to supply expensive equipment to the Sri Lanka Army, when Fonseka was the Army Commander.

There was clear evidence that Sarath Fonseka had allowed the tender board to accept tenders from the son-in-law’s company after the closing date for tenders and award the tender to that company though the tender was for the higher price question than the others, he said.

The National Procurement Agency, the authority on purchases has stipulated that no head of department should sit on a tender board if he had an interest but Fonseka sat on the board procuring arms and equipment.