No, the CEB Spokesperson’s Controversial “Kerosene Lamp” Statement Was Not Made Recently; It Is from February 2024

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Recycling old video clips as recent events is one of the most common forms of misleading content on Sri Lankan social media. A short clip of a CEB official telling Sri Lankans that children do not need electricity to study and could use a kerosene lamp instead has been circulating again, this time presented as a statement made under the current government. It was not. Below is our fact-check.

Social Media Posts :

The viral clip shows the official making the following statement during a discussion on a leading television channel: “Children don’t need electricity to study. Buy a kerosene lamp. Why iron clothes? Wear linen instead.”

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Separately, posts claiming this statement were made recently circulated as follows:

We investigated when this statement was made and what the background was.

Fact-Check :

The video is from a discussion programme that aired on Derana TV. During the programme, the invited guest made a statement that attracted considerable public attention. He argued that the Ceylon Electricity Board should have increased electricity tariffs gradually over time to recover its losses, and that the public backlash arose because the increases came all at once.

He went on to state that children do not necessarily need electricity to study and can use kerosene lamps as people did in the past. The official also claimed that being unable to afford an electricity bill reflects a weakness on the part of the father or the family’s main income earner, and that they should work harder to earn more.

We then traced when this programme actually took place.

The Programme Was Broadcast on 20 February 2024

Our investigation established that the programme aired on Derana TV on 20 February 2024 and covered electricity tariff revisions and power generation in Sri Lanka.

The guest speaker was Engineer Noel Priyantha, who was serving as the official Media Spokesperson of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) at the time, and had also served as a Deputy General Manager of the CEB. The statement was not made recently and was not made during the current government’s administration.

The full programme is available below:

YouTube

Following Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis in 2022, electricity tariffs were raised several times to meet IMF programme conditions and recover CEB losses. In October 2023, tariffs increased by 18%, placing heavy burdens on households, small businesses, and industries. Engineer Noel Priyantha’s remarks were made in that context.

Noel Priyantha resigned from his post on 22 February 2024, two days after this programme aired. The resignation came directly as a result of the public backlash over his comments about electricity consumers. After widespread criticism, he stepped down. More information is available here, here, and here.

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Conclusion :

Our fact-check confirms that the video of Engineer Noel Priyantha commenting on electricity tariff revisions, currently being recirculated as a recent statement, is not recent. It was recorded during a Derana TV discussion programme broadcast on 20 February 2024. He was serving as the CEB’s official Media Spokesperson at the time.

Following the public criticism his comments generated, Noel Priyantha resigned from his post on 22 February 2024. The statement predates the current government’s administration and has no connection to any recent policy or decision.