Nushad Perera has issued a statement clarifying that he had resigned from his position as Chairman of Sathosa (Lorries and stores division (CWE)) in November.
In his statement, Mr. Perera clarifies that he is still the chairman of ‘Lankan Sathosa’, the supermarket chain operating 416 outlets around the country. He has further said that due to high workload he had resigned from his position of Chairman of CWE.
The statement comes following media reports yesterday that he was sacked by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardene and that secretary of the Ministry of Trade, Bhadrani Jayawardena was appointed as the acting chairman of Sathosa.
Perera’s controversy comes, after allegations of malpractice were raised against him by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament recently.
MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Perera had made an irregular purchase of 5,000 MT of sugar from a close associate of himself and that of a VVIP as soon as the import duty was reduced.
Refuting the allegations, Perera had said at the time that Lanka Sathosa Ltd being the price setter to the nation for essential commodities makes all its purchases through government approved procurement guidelines commonly known as tenders. (NewsWire)
Below is the statement issued by Mr. Nushad Perera:
Dear all,
Certain gossip websites are twisting facts to suite corrupt hidden agendas.
I was sought to work at GOSL because of my commitment as a professional who is transparent and honest. My standards will remain unchanged.
FACTS
I was appointed Chairman of 2 institutions.
(1) CWE/Sathosa (which operates lorries and warehouses)
AND
(2) Lanka Sathosa (which operates Supermarkets).
With the 2nd wave of Covid, time constraints, workload, it was prudent that I allocate all my time to Lanka Sathosa.
Hence, I personally resigned from Sathosa/CWE (1) way back in November.
This truth is now twisted to suit hidden agendas of those who are bent on furthering their own interests.
I am still the Chairman of Lanka Sathosa which operates 416 outlets islandwide.
Please clarify to anyone who wants to know the truth of the matter.