Outdated French equipment bought at a cost of Rs 108mn in 1999 not used at all

Mass Media Secretary Anusha Palpita has told the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) that the current television rating system practised here is biased and implemented in an irregular mannar.

Attending a COPA meeting chaired by State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna recently in Parliament, Palpita, who is also the Chairman of Lake House, underscored the urgent need to take remedial measures.

Janakantha Silva, Director Legislative Services and Acting Director Communication, has said in a media statement that Palpita discussed the issue at a meeting called by COPA to examine the Auditor General’s reports on the Government Information Department performance in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the current situation.

Palpita has questioned the very basis of the data obtained for want of a transparent system, according to the statement issued by Parliament. The official was quoted as having said that a special device required for collecting data is installed in randomly selected 400 television sets. However, the entire process was manipulated by interested parties, Palpita said.

Palpita said that the state-owned television stations couldn’t resort to the same tactics to secure higher ratings.

During the proceedings, it was disclosed that a negative tape machine and the positive tape machine procured at a cost of Rs 108 mn from France in 1999 hadn’t been used at least once. Officials told COPA that the technology was outdated.

State Ministers Diana Gamage, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Members of Parliament Niroshan Perera, J. C. Alawathuwala, Jayantha Ketagoda, Sivagnanam Sritharan, (Dr.) Major Pradeep Undugoda, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, (Ms.) Manjula Dissanayake and M. W. D. Sahan Pradeep Withana participated in the proceedings. (SF)