Ports Authority spends Rs. 1.2 bn on food in 2022; Rs. 498 mn for snacks: COPE

• There are 914 excess employees in the Ports Authority and 
• Overtime  allowances have been given to employees despite the excess  employees.  

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera  

Sri Lanka Ports Authority has spent 1.2 billion rupees on food for the year 2022, the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) revealed.  
The Auditor General told the Committee that 498 million rupees have been spent on snacks alone.  

It was also revealed that there are 914 excess employees in the Ports Authority and that overtime allowances have been given to the employees despite the excess employees.  

The Committee questioned the officials present regarding the non-payment of 4.975 million rupees of the profit earned by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority from the year 2016 to the year 2021, which was to be credited to the Consolidated Fund.  

The officials who were present stated that they will take measures to pay this amount within two months.  

Accordingly, COPE also instructed the Department of Management Services to pay attention to the excess number of employees and take necessary action. The Committee instructed to resolve the issue related to the number of employees when being summoned back before the Committee.