The Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) debts have increased by billions of rupees. There is no alternative other than increasing of the cost of each unit of the electricity supplied to the consumer which will add more burden on them Dr. Amunugama noted.

In order to protect the consumer some alternative steps should be taken, the minister said.

However, no privatisation of the CEB is contemplated, the minister allayed fears of the trade unions.

The institutions and enterprises should be re-organised and reformed to suit the requirements. Concepts should be modified to suit the times, he said adding that President Kumaratunge was also in favour of re-organising enterprises running at a loss.

At present there is a proposal from some quarters to increase the tariff on electricity supply by Rs. 2 per unit. In the failure or a re-organisation of the CEB the price will further increase, he said.

Apart from Funding the CEB by the Treasury the Treasury releases Rs. 500 million monthly to the bus companies, Rs. 200 million to the CGR, and Rs. 300 million to the CWE. All this is people’s properties, he said further,

He said that the politicians should be honest and straightforward. They should disclose the truth to the people and take steps for the good of the country. Politicians should not try to resort to cheap politics.

Politicians in Sri Lanka should admire the manner the former Presidents of the USA. Two of them Bush snr. and Chlinton travelled in a single aircraft and shared the comfort available in it. The two were him with a single common objective, he added.

Most Ven. Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Mahanayake Thero said that he did not objected to any re-organisation of public enterprises such as the CEB it the masses were not burdened by a further rise in the cost of living.