The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in plans to divest SriLankan Catering and ground handling, noting their annual revenue of about USD 100 million while public funds are allocated for airline debt servicing. He warned of a staffing crisis in ground handling and load control due to low salaries and urged pay increases to prevent operational collapse. He also questioned the Government’s position on liquor licences, citing court orders and official correspondence restricting new licences, while pointing to a subsequent Excise Department letter seeking objections for a new RB-4 licence in Ukuwela.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Minister Harshana Suriyapperuma, you worked at the SEC, not the CSE; I accept that. My point on conflict of interest remains. SriLankan Catering and ground handling generate about USD 100 million annually. Now you are looking to divest. I don’t know the exact plan, but while you allocate Rs. 20,000 million for airline debt service, a farmer pays Rs. 50,000 looking up at planes overhead. Keep that in mind.
¶ 02 Load Control and ground handling professionals are leaving—around 150 per year—because they earn about Rs. 60,000 here while outside offers are around Rs. 500,000. There is a risk of ground handling collapse. Increase pay and secure staffing.
¶ 03 On liquor licences: There is a stay order up to 2025.06.02, extended from 2024.10.15, and the Court of Appeal has also given a ruling. On 2024.10.21, the Presidential Secretary Dr. N.S. Kumanayake wrote instructing that no excise licences be issued until further notice. Subsequently, the same Secretary wrote again setting out five criteria under which licences could be issued. Then, on 2025.01.28—after this Government took office—the Assistant Excise Commissioner wrote to the Ukuwela Divisional Secretary calling for objections regarding a new RB-4 licence for one H.L. Lasantha Chandrasiri. You said no new licences would be issued; what is happening?
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 21 March 2025 ·No. 1747297753031842 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 March 2025. No. 1747297753031842. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/15733