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SriLankan’s future hangs in the balance

07 Apr 2019

By Sarah Hannan The future of cash-strapped SriLankan Airlines hinges on a set of recommendations which will be put forward to Cabinet by a committee appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena. A report compiled by the committee to restructure SriLankan Airlines, led by Ministers Eran Wickramaratne and Dr. Harsha de Silva, is to be submitted to Cabinet before a decision is taken on the way forward. Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr. Harsha de Silva told The Sunday Morning that the report will spell out in broad terms, the steps that need to be taken on SriLankan Airlines. The Minister also insisted that no decision had been reached to give SriLankan shares to Lycamobile, as alleged by SriLankan trade unions. Lycamobile is a major international telecommunications company. The Sri Lanka NidahasSevakaSangamaya of SriLankan Airlines had alleged that the Ministry of Finance was looking to hand over the management and operations of SriLankan Airlines to Lycamobile. Following a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena and all relevant authorities held on 3 January at the Presidential Secretariat to discuss the way forward for SriLankan Airlines, the President had informed that a political decision would be taken to ensure that the national carrier would not suffer further losses and a committee was appointed to assess the situation at hand. Sri Lanka NidahasSevakaSangamaya Secretary HasanthaYasarathna alleged that Wickramaratne had informed the trade union that the Government was not taking any responsibility over the current losses that the airlines was facing. “They did not mention this in front of the President but told us separately that they cannot take action on any of the suggestions that were tabled during the previous meeting. It is quite clear that the Ministry of Finance is trying to portray that SriLankan Airlines is not a profit-making organisation and that it either needs to be liquidated or should be handed over to a private company for management.” Yasarathna alleged that the Minister and the Deputy Minister were now attempting to hand the company over to one of their close associates, so they could make a profit out of the commissions that were given. “We have received information about the possible hand over of SriLankan Airlines to Lycamobile; once we have secured the dossier including the information about the deal, we will disseminate it to the media,” Yasarathna confirmed. Meanwhile, agreeing with Yasarathna’s statement, Sri Lanka NidahasSevakaSangamaya of SriLankan Airlines Chairman Janaka Wijepathirana stated that a proposal will likely be submitted to the Cabinet next week, indicating the possible sale of SriLankan Airlines to Lycamobile.

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