AT SLRC MONEY LAUNDERING?

Money laundering at SLRC?

Though Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that the agreement reached with Lyca Group to lease out the airtime of ‘Channel Eye’ owned by the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) can be terminated with one month’s notice, it has been leased for a period of three months, internal sources at the SLRC said.

A company with a three-letter name has already given Rs.50 million to the SLRC and the amount has already been spent.Out of this, Rs.25 million have been spent to settle the outstanding electricity bill of the SLRC.Meanwhile, a cheque for another Rs.25 million has been given by the same company to be cleared in the future.

It was reported that Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe, a dual citizen who holds both the SLRC Chairman and Director General posts, has prepared all the arrangements in this regard.

One of the major accusations levelled against Lyca Group all over the world is money laundering and serious doubts have been raised whether more money has been given to SLRC to launder money.Meanwhile, the SLRC Chairman has informed the staff to be ready to give the amount of Rs.50 million back to the same company.

However, Prasad had leased out Channel Eye to Lyca last February when a tender was called and two applications have been submitted to lease it out.

It was said that Lyca Group was not among the institutions that submitted the applications.

Nethra TV given instead of Channel Eye

Although Dr. Samarasinghe had informed the Minister and others that Channel Eye had been leased out, it has now been revealed that Lyca has actually been given the frequencies of Nethra TV, which covers the entire country.

The reason for doing so is that the frequencies of Channel Eye do not cover the entire country.

Samarasinghe escapes to China

Meanwhile, it was said that Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe left the country last night (15) in order to alleviate the situation in the event the relevant agreement could not be approved by the Cabinet.

He has gone abroad for trivial reasons such as signing contracts for some free video programs given by Chinese TV.

Although previously the head of the program and the head of the unit related to the program usually participate in these events, this time Dr. Prasad and his close associate Mothilal Hiswella (Head of the International Affairs Unit) have attended the event much to the displeasure of the SLRC workers.

The absurd situation is that even now the program facilities are available at the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka which is about 500 meters away from the SLRC premises. The agreement could have been signed online though the two officers have left for China to sign it.

Sources from China said that the Chinese television has organized this tour on the strong demand of the SLRC.

It was said that Prasad and Mothilal have gone abroad despite Sumedha, the head of the program, and Vajira Kumari Withanage, the head of the dubbing department, having expressed their opposition to this.

NEWS

India hands over successor Donier-228 surveillance aircraft

India officially handed over a substitute Donier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft to Mr. Sagala Ratnayaka, President’s Senior Advisor on National Security to be used by the Sri Lanka Air Force, today (16) as the Donier-228 aircraft previously handed over to SL a year ago was sent to India for obligatory yearly maintenance.

The formal handover of this successor aircraft took place at the Sri Lanka Air Force Base Katunayake, with Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka – Mr. Gopal Baglay officiating.

In addition to the Indian High Commissioner and Mr. Ratnayaka, Secretary of the Defence Ministry – General Kamal Gunaratne (Rtd) and other officials also attended the event.

During the bilateral security discussions that transpired between India and Sri Lanka on January 9, 2018, in New Delhi, the potential acquisition of maritime surveillance aircraft akin to the Dornier type from India was brought to attention. The aim was to bolster Sri Lanka’s capabilities in maritime surveillance. In response, the Indian government had taken proactive measures and decided to provide a Donier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft, which was part of the Indian Navy’s fleet, to Sri Lanka for a span of two years. The aircraft was handed over to the Sri Lanka Air Force on Aug. 15, 2022.

Since its initial arrival in Sri Lanka, the Donier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft has significantly contributed to numerous operations. These encompass a spectrum of activities such as monitoring and safeguarding Sri Lanka’s airspace and exclusive economic zone through maritime and coastal surveillance operations, executing search and rescue missions, and monitoring and controlling maritime pollution.

Speaking during today’s event, Mr Sagala Ratnayaka thanked the Indian government and said, “Our friends, our neighbouring friends, were gracious enough to assist us. It is not only with this aircraft that we have received India’s assistance. It’s been a longstanding relationship, but in more recent times, when we were going through the economic crisis, India stepped up beyond the call of duty to lend us a hand… And we, in our recent visit to India, have developed a closer bond and a vision for how we will work together in the future as well,” he said.

“Connectivity is the key word. It’s a big word, actually. It has a wide area of meaning. It can be road connectivity, it can be people to people connectivity, economic connectivity, logistical connectivity, security connectivity, you know, it’s a large sphere. And we as neighbours cannot change the fact that we are neighbours. We will have to work together to ensure the safety of each other,” he added.

NEWS

No decision on non-approval of doctors’ foreign leave – Minister (Update)

Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella has stated that despite certain claims, no decision pertaining to non-approval of foreign leave for doctors has been made yet.

However, the Minister had noted that a discussion is due to be held with the health sector trade unions focusing on how Sri Lanka can retain its doctors, despite the ongoing situation.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference this morning (16 Aug), Secretary of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Dr. Haritha Aluthge urged that the government take measures to resolve the issues faced by doctors, prior to imposing certain restrictions on them such as the non-approval of foreign leave.

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(Previous News : August 16, 2023 12.36pm)

No leave for specialist doctors to travel overseas

The Health Ministry has decided not to approve leave for doctors in fields with a limited number of specialists, including anaesthesiologists, to go overseas.

Ministry Secretary Janaka Shri Chandragupta said that several areas where there is a severe shortage of doctors in the health service have been identified by now.

If they travel abroad without notifying the ministry, the secretary said that they will be fired followed by necessary further actions.

The number of doctors specialising in certain fields in Sri Lanka is very limited, and the health sector faced several crises as a result of specialist doctors going overseas in recent days.

The Health Secretary said over 600 doctors have gone overseas for specialist training, and 300 of them are due to return this year.

He said the current shortage of experts in some fields will be resolved to some extent once these doctors return.

Meanwhile, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) recently said that 274 specialist doctors have left the country during the one-year period that ended on May 31.

The GMOA said 842 graded medical officers have also left the country during this period.

(Newsradio)

NEWS

O/L evaluations to start on Aug. 18

The Department of Examinations announced that the first phase of the evaluation of the 2022 GCE Ordinary Level Examination papers will commence on 18 August.

Deputy Commissioner of the Examinations Department – Lasika Samarakoon says that the evaluations of the first phase will be done in a 100 paper marking centres in 56 towns across the island until Aug. 27.