Destruction of Sri Lankan Airline
Dec 17, 2016
During the Rajpakse days Sri Lankan Airlines was run like a private company owned by the Rajapakses. They flirted with the women in the airline. They landed planes wherever they wanted and bought aircrafts without following any tender procedures.
The findings of Weliamuna as to how the airline was managed during Rajapakse days were shocking. The government to date has done nothing to prosecute the offenders. Nisthanta Wickramasinghe is roaming the world . The CEO Kapila is enjoying his ill gotten wealth. He cannot be touched because he is Crickter Arvinda’s Brother-in-law.
The current Chairman Ajith Dias is running coffee shops with Arvinda de Silva. So Kapila is spared. As a result Nishantha has got away Scott free to live another day. Much was expected from the Yahapalanya government .
The performance so far has been very shameful. The biggest mistake started with the appointment of the Board. The Prime Minister appointed all his friends to the Board. The Chairman was his schoolmate at Royal College. Then the government removed the highly competent Rakitha Jayawardana and appointed a pilot who only knew how to fly a plane to run a bankrupt airline. His only qualification was that he was parachutist consultant Charitha Rathwatte’s brother. Rathwatte was responsible for UNF government’s premature departure in 2004. The Prime Minister has brought him back to do another 2004. When the Sri Lankan Board refused to confirm Rathwate’s brother in the post of CEO, the Prime Minister threatened to sack the Board. The board members like wimps consented to his confirmation after the threat.
Now it is alleged the Chairman and the CEO without the approval of the Board had placed orders to buy three Airbus aircraft. This is after one year of vacillating on the previous orders of the 350s and the recent cancellation resulting in the Airline losing millions of Dollars. Some Board members have questioned the rationality of the purchase when previous orders placed were cancelled due to the airline’s disastrous cash situation and why the board was not informed prior to the purchase.
Instead of sacking both the Chairman and CEO, an eighty year old ex corporate executive has been now appointed to mediate between the Board and the Chairman and CEO. The government will surely see stars at the next local election due in March.
It is a shame that people like Eran Wickramarathe the Deputy Minister in charge of the airline who preaches good governance in public is turning a blind eye to all this disgraceful conduct
