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| Sunday, 27 March 2005 |
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Sports |
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Editorial
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SLC only suspended, not dissolved by Lal Gunesekera The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has only been suspended on Thursday by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Jeewan Kumaranatunga, and not dissolved. SLC will submit the entire facts to Minister Kumaranatunga and make an appeal to lift its suspension and SLC is confident that the Minister will do so. So said SLC, President Mohan de Silva, at a media briefing last afternoon at its headquarters at Maitland Place, after Minister Kumaranatunga decided to suspend the SLC which is alleged to have caused a loss of Rs. 329,406,189 for the financial year ending 31st December 2004 by ineffective and/or improper financial management and also permitting person/persons to attend meetings overseas without the approval of the Minister. Mohan de Silva said that he was very hurt and disappointed with the way Minister Kumaranatunga had acted and for not giving a hearing before deciding to suspend the SLC. He said: "Cricket development has been hindered without giving an opportunity for an elected body to administer its affairs since 1988. This is the fourth time an interim committee has been appointed by Sports Ministers. The previous bodies were headed by Hemaka Amarasuriya, Rienzie Wijetilleke and Vijaya Malalasekera, while Jayantha Dharmadasa, heads the new committee. He said that there was no case of "mismanagement" of SLC finances to the tune of over Rs. 329 million and that within the next four years, the SLC would have US dollars 70 million and questioned "How was that we could be bankrupt". He said that Minister Kumaranatunga had been given a wrong picture by interested parties with adverse effects on all at SLC". He said: "It challenges the integrity of us all. We have not been given a fair hearing". SLC, Deputy President Aravinda de Silva said that they (SLC) were very disappointed with the Minister for suspending the SLC after it had put in a lot of effort since 2003 and added that his ambition was for Sri Lanka to be ranked No. 1 in Tests and also win overseas. He said that Minister Kumaranatunga was also very supportive, but disappointed that he had not given an opportunity for the SLC to explain all these "allegations". He said: "We must clear our names before anything else. The SLC Treasurer of Nuski Mohamed, explained in detail the allegations of "financial mismanagement" made by Minister Kumaranatunga to suspend the SLC. He said the on-going litigation was due to the cancellation of the WSG Nimbus TV deal by a previous interim committee headed by Vijaya Malalasekera, which the SLC had challenged with cases in Sri Lanka, England, British Virgin Islands and Malaysia. He said the SLC was sure of settling this issue out of court. Mohamed disclosed that monies were yet due to the SLC from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and that SLC had signed the best ever deal for TV rights in a sum of over US Dollars 51 million and that the "budgets and cash flow statements prepared for the year under review clearly showed that the SLC would be out of the red during this year and would end up with a nett surplus from its operations". He said that the SLC was transparent as far as possible and even 80 per cent of bank loans too had been paid back. Trevor Rajaratnam pointed out that the reasons were not valid for the suspension of the SLC by Minister Kumaranatunga. He said: "What will the international community think of SLC? This has brought disrepute to Sri Lanka by the entire cricketing world. This is the fourth occasion that an interim committee has been appointed and it's pretty obvious that this is a vendetta against Thilanga Sumathipala, who was to be President of the SLC, uncontested, at its annual general meeting scheduled for today (Sunday)". The SLC Executive Committee met later yesterday (Saturday) and decided to go ahead with the annual general meeting fixed for today (Sunday). Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Interim Committee appointed by Minister Kumaranatunga, Tryphon Mirando, told the "Sunday Observer" that the SLC could conduct a meeting at its Maitland Place headquarters. He said: "Chairman of the Interim Committee, Jayantha Dharmadasa, is away in Dubai and he is due in the country early this morning (Sunday). We have not officially resumed our duties and await a clarification from the Minister". The other members of the Interim Committee are - Kumar Weerasuriya (Treasurer), Rienzie Wijetilleke (member), Adel Hashim (member) and Damian Fernando (Ministry representative). Among the other top SLC officials present at yesterday's meeting with the media, were Lourence Amarasena, Ravin Wickremaratne, Lucien Merrinage and SLC's Chief Executive Duleep Mendis.
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