Speaking on the Hambantota port the Deputy Minister noted that according to the Audit of the port it was constructed at a cost of USD1,320mn. Ramanayake noted that the bid put forward by the construction company was USD 720mn.
Ramanayke questioned where the balance money went to and called for an audit investigation. Elaborating on the contents of the New York time article the Deputy Minister stated that the article reports that 7.6mn US dollars was given to Mahinda Rajapaksa while 38,000 US dollars was given to Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thero.
He added that 18 Million rupees were given to the Pushpa Rajapaksa Foundation which belong to the wife of Former Minister Basil Rajapaksa and that it has come from the Chinese Companies. He questioned why China would provide such funds to Pushpa Rajapaksa.
He stated that in order to understand all this an audit should be held. Ramanayake noted that he had spoken with the Auditor General and that he had informed the Deputy Minister that is Parliaments grants him the powers to investigate such a matter he is duty bound to conduct it.
However Chinese embassy spokesperson issuing statement and denied those allegations ” The Embassy has noticed the New York Times’ article published on June 25, as well as the clarifications and responses by various parties from Sri Lanka, criticizing it full of political prejudice and completely inconsistent with the fact.
The Embassy stress that China has always been pursuing a friendly policy toward Sri Lanka, firmly supporting the latter’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposing any country’s interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka. It is encouraging that all sectors of the Sri Lankan society highly appreciate China’s tremendous support and selfless assistance for ending the civil war and post-war reconstruction in the Island nation.
Despite any interference from a third party, China would like to work together with Sri Lanka to actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and concentrate unwaveringly on our fixed goals, continuously promote the pragmatic cooperations under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiatives following the “golden rule” of “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits”, to better benefit the two countries and the two peoples.
