Sri Lanka Sports Minister Reveals Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Attempts to Interfere in Cricket
Daily FT, Srilanka | 08/11/2023
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- Claims President Wickremesinghe urged him to withdraw appointment of interim committee
- Says extent of corruption within SLC is incomprehensible, and it is infested with corrupt persons
- Warns important documents at SLC may go missing in coming days following injunction order issued by courts on committee
- Accuses SLC’s administrators of issuing cheques worth billions in past few days alone
In a startling turn of events, Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe
yesterday revealed attempts made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to
interfere in the former’s attempts to reform Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Speaking in parliament, Ranasinghe claimed that Wickremesinghe had
contacted him and pressured him to revoke the appointment of the Sri
Lanka Cricket Interim Committee, which Ranasinghe had established in a
bid to revamp the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and uplift the sport.
According to reports, the President had become aware of the decision to
appoint an interim committee only through media coverage, which may have
resulted in his call for it to be withdrawn.
“He demanded that I withdraw the committee’s appointment, warning that
if I refused, he would assume control of the sports law,” Ranasinghe
said. “I asked him to make a decision according to his preferences after
dismissing me, as I will not remove the committee appointed,” he added.
However after the issue was presented at the cabinet meeting on Monday,
in which Ranasinghe was also in attendance, a decision was made to
establish a four-member sub-committee headed by Foreign Minister Ali
Sabry to investigate allegations against SLC.
Ranasinghe said the extent of corruption within the SLC is
incomprehensible, and it is infested with corrupt individuals. The
Minister accused the SLC’s administrators of issuing cheques worth
billions in the past few days, anticipating the appointment of an
interim committee.
The Minister also informed Parliament that the floodlights at the
Dambulla International Cricket Stadium had been replaced hastily,
incurring a cost of Rs. 1.5 billion in the past few days.
Nonetheless, the interim committee, appointed by the Minister, is now
currently unable to proceed with its activities, as the Court of Appeal
issued a 14-day stay order preventing the government Gazette that
appointed the interim committee from coming into effect. This action is
based on an appeal filed by SLC President Shammi Silva.
The Minister voiced his apprehensions regarding the court order and said
there are concerns surrounding this decision. He also voiced concerns
about the potential risk of important documents at SLC going missing
during this time period.
The Minister said the people had demanded corruption-free governance
through the ‘Aragalaya’ movement, and he took on the role with the
belief that he could meet those expectations.