While welcoming the interim government’s methodology to select suitable persons for high posts of state agencies, Telecommunication Engineers’ Union (TEU) urged the government to immediately remove the present chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom PG Kumarasinghe Sirisena and board director Kanishka Senanayake as they are still to tender their resignations.
W.K.H Wegapitiya and Nilanthi Peiris tow board directors of the SLT have already tendered their resignation and Treasury representative director Pradeep Kumara is not attending board meetings till the new board of directors is constituted, TEU confirmed.
Nilanthi Peiris resigned recently following the demand made by trade unions, but Kumarasinghe Sirisena and Kanishka Senanayake are still sticking into their positions wielding the power of former president Maithripala Sirisena and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, TEU leader said.
TEU vehemently protested against the on gong recruitment and promotions at the SLT on the directions of the present Chairman and his stooges in the top management.
They alleged that a sum of Rs25 million of SLT money has been given to Sajith Premadasa’s presidential election campaign through former president’s daughter Chathurika Sirisena’s advertising firm ‘Media Gang’ on the directions of Chairman Sirisena.
He added that they informed this matter along with mal practices and corruption of the chairman hand his stooges to the President, Prime Minister and the subject Minister.
Representatives of TEU Executive Committee met former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga and brought the SLT Chairman’s matter to his notice.
He gave an assurance that under the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, only the professionals with suitable entrepreneurial and social background will be appointed to the state owned commercial institutions as Chairpersons/board members
There are also questions about Sirisena’s suitability to run the government’s biggest telecommunications company. At the time he was appointed the SLT Chairman, Sirisena had no experience in the telecommunication sector or any related field.
(LI)