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by Rajmi Manatunga

The Government has decided to continue providing funds for the CTB cluster bus companies from the Treasury until the divestiture of the companies is fully completed.

The divesting process of six cluster companies which commenced in October 2002 has been temporarily halted owing to legal action initiated by employees and problems in determining the shares while the other seven are yet to be placed on the Stock Exchange. Transport Minister Tilak Marapana said that the Government had earlier decided to allocate funds to the companies only till May since they hoped to complete the divestiture by then.

"But these obstacles have caused a delay in the process. Therefore, during a discussion with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe we pointed out the importance of continuing the allocations since the bus service provide the only mode of transport for the majority of workers and schoolchildren," he said.

The Minister said that the Prime Minister agreed to provide the Rs 120 million granted to the CTB on a monthly basis until the divestiture is concluded and directed the Treasury to make the necessary arrangements. A special committee has also been appointed to oversee the utilisation of these funds by the company management.

The committee is required to submit a weekly report on the expenditure and the improvement of the service to the Government.

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