SJB trade unionist raises queries over National Fuel Pass

By Shiran Ranasinghe

The government must reveal who is responsible for developing the computer application used for the National Fuel pass; who the owner is, and how much the government has paid for the app, Head of the National Employees Union of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Ananda Palitha, said yesterday.Palitha said that the application was not yet used countrywide.

“The app was to be used countrywide from 25 July. Now, the launch has been postponed to 01 August. The plan was to ration fuel using the app, but that is not happening and we are dispensing fuel without knowing what happens to it,” he said.

Palitha said that Sri Lanka was not sure when the next fuel shipment would arrive. There are about 8 million vehicles altogether in the country and only about four million had registered with the National Fuel Pass, he said.

“What steps did the CPC take when introducing the app? Has it got the approval of the board of directors or the Cabinet nod for the new scheme? We are not saying there shouldn’t be rationing but the manner in which the ministry has gone about it is suspicious,” he said.

Palitha said that the government had not revealed how much had been paid to the app developer. “How much did we pay up front to the app developer? Does the company get paid when each time a new QR code is generated? People must be told the truth,” he said.

Minister of Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said that over four million had registered for the fuel pass and currently the system had been implemented at 299 gas stations countrywide.

“The pilot project has been successful,” he said.