By Saman Indrajith 

Members of the Parliamentary watchdog committee- COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) severely reprimanded the officials of the scandal-ridden Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) yesterday for their irresponsible attitudes and manner of handling finances.

The Sri Lanka Cricket officials were reprimanded at a probe conducted by the COPE at the parliamentary complex yesterday where it had been found that officials had not come there prepared with documents necessary for the audit, parliament sources said. 

The COPE investigation lasted for around one and half hours when its members decided to suspend the probe abruptly and ordered the officials to appear before the committee for its investigation in a month’s time, Chairman of the COPE Prof Charitha Herath said.

The Officials had been summoned to investigate the issues arising from the Audit Reports and Performance Reports pertaining to the financial years 2017 and 2018. Though the COPE had informed the officials to be present ready with documents, they came there empty handed, sources said.

Yesterday’s meeting presided by Prof Hearth comprised of COPE members Ministers Mahinda Amaraweera, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, State Ministers Indika Anuruddha, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Nalaka Godahewa and MPs Patali Champika Ranawaka, Jagath Pushpakumara, Eran Wickremaratne, Premanath C Dolawatte and S Rasamanickkam. 

Prof Herath said that there was no financial discipline in Sri Lanka Cricket administration. The informal manner of financial administration had resulted in chaos and many other problems of the institution, Prof Herath said adding that people have expressed  their displeasure on the conduct of the cricket governing body as well as the subsequent losses of the national team in recent matches. The officials should understand that Sri Lanka Cricket is not a property of some of them but belongs to the public. 

The COPE members found fault with Sri Lanka Cricket officials for not submitting for audit documents pertaining to contracts and other deals running over Rs 240 million in the year 2017. The officials could not produce those documents at yesterday’s investigation too, parliament sources said.

The COPE members also observed that the officials failed to submit for audit documents for various incomplete projects worth Rs 511 million as at the end of 2020.

COPE members questioned officials for not collecting a Rs 29 million television rights fee for the South Africa-Sri Lanka series in 2018. SLC head Shammi Silva said that there was a CID investigation in progress on the matter. It was revealed during yesterday’s probe that the aforementioned fee had been remitted on a personal bank account of an American national of the name of Diamond Chanel. The COPE members demanded to know from officials as to how such remittance could be made, yet the officials could not respond to the investigators’ satisfaction, sources said adding that COPE Chairman Prof Hearth instructed Secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Anuradha Wijekoon to conduct a separate investigation on the matter and submit a report to the COPE within a month.

COPE members pointed out that the service contract of recruiting Chandika Hathurusinghe as the head coach of the Sri Lanka Cricket team was full of errors and now Haturusinghe has moved court against the unjust meted out to him. Officials in response said that Haturusinghe had a three year contract period but he had to be removed prematurely because he could not deliver the expected results.  It was also revealed that Sri Lanka Cricket had to pay 20 million rupees up to yesterday as legal fee for lawyers to attend to the legal action filed by Haturusinghe. 

The COPE members censured Sri Lanka Cricket officials for their failure to submit its annual reports for several years. The committee ordered the Secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to submit those annual reports immediately, sources said.