The Committee on Public Enterprises [COPE] has summoned the Textile Quota Board [TQB] for a crisis meeting today following serious allegations over the disbursement of export quotas, authoritative sources said yesterday. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Parliamentary complex in the afternoon, the sources said adding that senior representatives from the Customs, Export Development Board and the Board of Investment [BOI] too have been asked to attend.

The TQB comes under Industrial Development Ministry.

Export quotas are distributed to manufacturers depending on their past performances, size and capacity, the sources said adding that the watch dog committee decided to probe the TQB in a bid to put an end to ongoing corrupt practices related to the textile industry. "There are serious irregularities in the disbursement of export quotas," a COPE spokesman said yesterday adding that they intend to do whatever necessary to curb what he described as favoured treatment to catches and "political associates".

The primary task of the COPE is to ensure that public enterprises were run properly and economically viable. Senior UNP MP John Amaratunga heads the powerful 8-member parliamentary committee that includes three PA representatives, Deputy Education Minister Tudor Dayaratne, Deputy Power and Energy Minister Felix Perera and MP Raja Collure. The committee also includes MP Rohitha Bogollagama, a former chairman of the then Greater Colombo Economic Commission and MP Ravi Karunanayake.

"The textile quota system has run into a crisis," a MP said claiming that many industrialists were seriously concerned over various irregularities. He said that many public enterprises including the Ceylon Electricity Board were under investigation. Senior officials of the CEB appeared before the COPE on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The sources said that their findings would be, tabled in parliament.

Since Amaratunga was elected chairman of the COPE by majority vote on March 8, this year, the parliamentary committee has initiated inquiries on several public enterprises that were under fire for mismanagement, and corruption. The earlier committee headed by a government minister failed to act on corruption and mismanagement for obvious reasons. (SF)