Five hundred staff, fifty vehicles of SLPA in govt. campaigning

Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Mahajana Wing Mangala Samaraweera has alleged that the government was using for its eastern election campaign around 500 staff and 50 vehicles of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, released purportedly for the Oluwil Harbour project. Mr. Samaraweera, who is a former Minister of Ports and Aviation, said these fulltime as well as part time wharf and other clerical staff, welders and computer assistants are staff who are not needed for initial construction work of a harbour. This means that they have been released purely on a political need, he said. A majority of them are Muslims, with port officials recommending them to be released in two groups from April 23rd to June 22nd and April 24th to May 11th. Six buses and many double cabs and crew cabs too, have been released, Mr. Samaraweera said. Construction of the Oluwil harbour began officially on May 06th but, they had been released few weeks earlier, making it clear that their release is politically motivated, according to him. Samaraweera said he would not hesitate to take every possible measure to see that disciplinary action is against these staff as well as the officials responsible for releasing them.