Colombo, Sri Lanka on Friday appointed a high-powered Presidential Commission to probe a state-owned entity’s coal imports for power generation going back to about two decades.
The Commission appointed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will probe Lanka Coal Ltd from the time coal came to be imported for power generation going back decades until April 16, 2026, a release from the President’s Office said.
The Lanka Coal Company Limited was established in 2008 to procure and supply coal for thermal power generation following a decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2006 and registered under the Companies Act, No 7 of 2007.
The Commission was appointed as per the provisions of Section 2 of the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Act No 07 of 1978, as amended by the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Act No 04 of 1978, the release said.
The Lanka Coal offices were sealed by the police for a few days last week before reopening.
The presidential probe would investigate if coal imports had caused a loss to the state, if the accepted procurement procedures had not been adhered to.
The announcement of the probe commission follows a police complaint lodged by Dissanayake’s secretary last week urging an investigation into coal imports by Lanka Coal during past years, apparently as a reaction to the opposition moving a ‘No Trust’ motion in parliament against the Energy Minister Kumara Jayakodi.
The opposition charged that the government had committed irregularities in coal imports by importing sub standard coal causing heavy financial losses. The government’s defence was that no corruption occurred in importing coal.
Jayakodi defied the opposition call for resignation by winning the motion with the support of the ruling party’s overwhelming majority.
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