In a firm stance, the Government has decided to disregard the recommendation presented in the report by the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on national security, which advised against the sale of the Government stake of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT). The Cabinet will take a decision in this regard in due course.
During Friday’s parliamentary session, MP Dr. Sarath Weerasekera, who serves as the chairman of the National Security SOC said the committee’s report recommended against approving the sale of SLT due to its potential implications for national security.
A senior Minister from the ruling party said that due to the Government’s avowed commitment to privatise SLT, they will not endorse or accept the SOC report.
The Minister conveyed the utmost confidence that the Government will firmly dismiss the proposal presented by the SOC, which has advised against the SLT privatisation. The ruling party office had also taken steps to send a copy of the report of the SOC presented to Parliament to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The senior Minister said that the report presented to Parliament failed to address how the privatisation of SLT, where the Government holds only a 49 percent share, directly impacts the country’s national security.
Moreover, a number of SOC members had reported to senior Ministers that they had not seen the SOC report. According to parliamentary sources, the prevailing circumstances had given rise to a heated situation within the SOC on national security.