SriLankan Airlines – Expensive Toy Of Our Politicians
By Rajeewa Jayaweera –May 1, 2016
Rajeewa Jayaweera
The Prime Minister, at a recently held press conference has stated “cabinet has decided to defuse economic land mines without allowing them to explode and one of those mines is SriLankan Airlines”. Having said that, he has reportedly recommended to the cabinet of ministers, the absorption by the state of the national carrier’s carried forward debt amounting to Rs 461 billion (USD 3.2 billion).
During the same press conference, a senior minister for Special Projects has stated, the ideal arrangement will be to convert the national carrier into a public-private partnership having a 60% stake with the government and 40% stake with the private sector. He has quoted the 1998 agreement with Emirates. He has supposedly further stated the logo of the airline will not be changed.
It is also reported, the Deputy Minister of Power & Renewable Energy has stated at a media briefing, the government will keep the ‘right to administer’ the national carrier though a stake of it will be given to the private sector and it will be converted into a private public partnership. He has also stated, “Government will continuously control SriLankan Airlines despite the conversion of it into a private public partnership”. He has further stated the changing of the logo and name of the airline lies with the new management and the government is not looking at retrenching existing staff of SriLankan Airlines. He has given an assurance the privileges enjoyed by the 6,700 employees would not be changed.