By The National Audit Office has exposed the culprits responsible for the massive fertilizer scandal of USD 6.9 million (Rs 1.38 billion)
The payment has been made for an unsupplied fertilizer stock
The Chinese company, Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co. Ltd, attempted to unload 96,000MT of organic fertilizer
The audit report said:
“… proceed with the legal action against the supplier and obtain compensation for attempting to enter a stock of unsterilized fertilizer… containing the destructive bacteria — Erwinia and Bacillus which cause diseases called mild rot and blight.
Friendly blunder
Then Minister of Agriculture Mahindananada Aluthgamage said it was in order to pay the Chinese company as China was a friendly nation. The State Ministry of Agriculture handled the procurement and Sachindra Rajapaksha was the State minister responsible for the procurement
The procumbent had not been evaluated properly and the Chairman of the technical committee had acted in an arbitrary manner and sanctioned the procumbent on his own without proper consultations with the others ‘ pointed out the report.
As a result of this audit, many officials and politicians may or may not fall into hot water, but at the moment the farmers are the ones who are mostly paying for this blunder.
