What Ails Our National Carrier – III

By Rajeewa Jayaweera -April 19, 2015 

Rajeewa Jayaweera

Details of the report of the Board of Inquiry (BoI) headed by Senior LawyerJ.C. Weliamuna is now in the public domain. It contains a sizable inventory of instances of mismanagement and abuse of position attributed to the former Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and former Director/CEO Kapila Chandrasena ranging from irregular appointments and promotions, blatant external interferences and abuses, awarding of contracts without following proper procedures, matters related to Air Lanka Catering, politically motivated Advertising & Sponsorships, the failed Air Taxi Operation, an unaffordable re-fleeting program without being phased out, air-craft configuration and poor Corporate Governance. The first two chapters are dedicated to the recruitment, conduct and remuneration of former Chairman and former Director/CEO. Comments have been made of the former Chairman’s inappropriate interest in Cabin Crew and attitude of Head of Human Resources on sexual harassment.

At this point, the writer would like to go back in time to 1986 when President JR Jayawardena in August 1986 set up a ‘Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Affairs of Air Lanka Ltd.’. The final report was submitted in April 1987. It was a thorough and comprehensive report delving into all major areas and highlighting the many instances of mismanagement and dereliction of duty by then Chairman and Board members.

The first Board appointed in January 1979 consisted of Chairman/Managing Director Rakitha S Wickramanayake who was a Pilot by profession, Secretary to Cabinet GVP Samarasinghe, Solicitor General VC Gunathilake, one time senior Civil Servant and UN Administrator Rajendra Coomaraswamy who passed away shortly afterwards and was replaced by ANU Jayawardena, a Lawyer and a Director of several leading companies in Sri Lanka and DC Wijesekera, a very senior Chartered Accountant and a former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka. The Solicitor General resigned in 1979 and was replaced by Secretary to Treasury Dr WM Thilakeratne. The Government spared no efforts in providing then Chairman/MD assistance and expertise of some of Sri Lanka’s best in the fields of administration, law and finance.

Read More