Dues To SLRC Amount To Rs. 42 Million
- Air Time For Election Campaigns
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema-Tuesday, July 09, 2013
Dues amounting to millions of rupees are yet to be recovered by Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) from airtime for election campaigns, and once again the government is the main culprit behind the abuse of state resources.
The dues to the SLRC from airtime for election campaigns stand at a staggering Rs. 42,640,586 (approximately Rs. 42 million) as at July 27, 2010. The airtime had been allocated to parties affiliated to the governing UPFA. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) had in August 2010 maintained that there is inefficiency in collecting cash from debtors by the Corporation.
The SLRC in its explanation has informed COPE that the Corporation was not in a position to institute legal action against some of the debtors as the debts owed are over a period of two years.
Apart from the Rs. 42 million due from airtime for election campaigns, 35 government and semi government institutions owe Rs. 15,705,500 (approximately Rs. 15 million) to the SLRC. State owned Mihin Lanka owes Rs. 10,000,000 (Rs. 10 million) to the Corporation as at July 27, 2010. A sum of Rs. 31,811,636 (approximately Rs. 31 million) owed due to air time given on special packages of ICC World Cup Cricket Tournament in the year 2007 has also been included in the list of debtors. The whole issue about dues to the SLRC was brought to the limelight by Youth Affairs Minister Dulles Alahapperuma who claimed at a media conference the previous week that UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera owed the SLRC a sum of Rs. 18,796,967 for air time related to election propaganda.
According to the document referred to Alahapperuma; the UPFA owed Rs. 13,586,562, the JHU owed Rs 493,000 and others who owed the SLRC included the Prime Minister’s office, the Media Ministry and other parties. However the Minister said that the SLFP owed only Rs. 166,675 to the SLRC and that the amount was recently settled. Responding to Alahapperuma’s allegation, Samaraweera claimed that the amounts highlighted by his former colleague were in fact dues from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidential election campaign in 2005.
“I was the campaign manager in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2005 presidential election campaign. None of the airtime used for advertising has been for my personal advertisements. They were all Mahinda Rajapaksa’s, the UPFA presidential candidate. Therefore, it is the UPFA that owes money to the government,” Samaraweera said.
UNP Parliamentarian and member of COPE Lakshman Kiriella charged that the government abused state resources, adding that the government owed the SLRC Rs. 42 million for air time during the elections. He said that it was the government that owed the SLRC millions of rupees, as the monies are owed by the President and parties affiliated to the UPFA. Kiriella told The Sunday Leader that when he had questioned the SLRC Secretary as to why measures have not been taken to recover the dues from airtime for election campaigns, the Secretary had said that legal action could not be instituted, as the dues were over two years.
“The SLRC remains silent without making any claims to recover the monies due from the government, UPFA and parties affiliated to it and after two years they say legal action cannot be taken,” Kiriella charged, adding that the SLRC officials have said the amount would have to be declared as a prescription. At the COPE meeting, Kiriella had asked the SLRC Secretary to hold the Chairman and board of directors at the Corporation at the time to be held responsible for the dues.
“If they had failed to take action and recover the monies, they should be held responsible and the monies should be recovered from them,” he has told COPE.
According to Kiriella, the fact that the SLRC remained silent without trying to recover the monies within the legally stipulated timeframe indicates it is a fraud and a conspiracy. “The President should pay the bill for the airtime allocated to the UPFA during the 2005 presidential election, as the time was taken from the station to promote his image,” he said. Be that as it may, the lack of a functioning Bribery Commission has also made it impossible to hold a proper inquiry into the matter, Kiriella said.
The inability to recover millions of rupees in dues has made the SLRC one of the main loss making state institutions in the country. UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya last November tabled a list of 54 loss making public enterprises in parliament. Fourth in the list was SLRC incurring a loss of Rs. 30 million in 2009.
The dues to the SLRC from airtime for election campaigns stand at a staggering Rs. 42,640,586 (approximately Rs. 42 million) as at July 27, 2010. The airtime had been allocated to parties affiliated to the governing UPFA. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) had in August 2010 maintained that there is inefficiency in collecting cash from debtors by the Corporation.
The SLRC in its explanation has informed COPE that the Corporation was not in a position to institute legal action against some of the debtors as the debts owed are over a period of two years.
Apart from the Rs. 42 million due from airtime for election campaigns, 35 government and semi government institutions owe Rs. 15,705,500 (approximately Rs. 15 million) to the SLRC. State owned Mihin Lanka owes Rs. 10,000,000 (Rs. 10 million) to the Corporation as at July 27, 2010. A sum of Rs. 31,811,636 (approximately Rs. 31 million) owed due to air time given on special packages of ICC World Cup Cricket Tournament in the year 2007 has also been included in the list of debtors. The whole issue about dues to the SLRC was brought to the limelight by Youth Affairs Minister Dulles Alahapperuma who claimed at a media conference the previous week that UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera owed the SLRC a sum of Rs. 18,796,967 for air time related to election propaganda.
According to the document referred to Alahapperuma; the UPFA owed Rs. 13,586,562, the JHU owed Rs 493,000 and others who owed the SLRC included the Prime Minister’s office, the Media Ministry and other parties. However the Minister said that the SLFP owed only Rs. 166,675 to the SLRC and that the amount was recently settled. Responding to Alahapperuma’s allegation, Samaraweera claimed that the amounts highlighted by his former colleague were in fact dues from President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidential election campaign in 2005.
“I was the campaign manager in Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 2005 presidential election campaign. None of the airtime used for advertising has been for my personal advertisements. They were all Mahinda Rajapaksa’s, the UPFA presidential candidate. Therefore, it is the UPFA that owes money to the government,” Samaraweera said.
UNP Parliamentarian and member of COPE Lakshman Kiriella charged that the government abused state resources, adding that the government owed the SLRC Rs. 42 million for air time during the elections. He said that it was the government that owed the SLRC millions of rupees, as the monies are owed by the President and parties affiliated to the UPFA. Kiriella told The Sunday Leader that when he had questioned the SLRC Secretary as to why measures have not been taken to recover the dues from airtime for election campaigns, the Secretary had said that legal action could not be instituted, as the dues were over two years.
“The SLRC remains silent without making any claims to recover the monies due from the government, UPFA and parties affiliated to it and after two years they say legal action cannot be taken,” Kiriella charged, adding that the SLRC officials have said the amount would have to be declared as a prescription. At the COPE meeting, Kiriella had asked the SLRC Secretary to hold the Chairman and board of directors at the Corporation at the time to be held responsible for the dues.
“If they had failed to take action and recover the monies, they should be held responsible and the monies should be recovered from them,” he has told COPE.
According to Kiriella, the fact that the SLRC remained silent without trying to recover the monies within the legally stipulated timeframe indicates it is a fraud and a conspiracy. “The President should pay the bill for the airtime allocated to the UPFA during the 2005 presidential election, as the time was taken from the station to promote his image,” he said. Be that as it may, the lack of a functioning Bribery Commission has also made it impossible to hold a proper inquiry into the matter, Kiriella said.
The inability to recover millions of rupees in dues has made the SLRC one of the main loss making state institutions in the country. UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya last November tabled a list of 54 loss making public enterprises in parliament. Fourth in the list was SLRC incurring a loss of Rs. 30 million in 2009.
