REVELATION: COPE chairman inquiring into SLC is also a Consultant for SLC Kandy Project?
Posted on November 15th, 2023
Courtesy Hiru News
In a startling revelation, serious concerns have emerged about the potential conflict of interest involving the present COPE Chairman, Prof. Ranjith Bandara, who has reportedly been retained by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as a consultant for the Kandy Cricket Campus project.
According to circulated minutes, Prof. Ranjith Bandara has also agreed with the SLC president to convert the “Kandy Cricket Campus Project” to a project titled “Cricket extending to sports administration and facilities” without any reference to Kandy.
These revelations have sparked criticisms and questions about a potential conflict of interest, especially given Prof. Bandara’s role as the COPE Chairman, tasked with overseeing public enterprises and ensuring accountability. Especially since he has failed to disclose his close association with SLC and the SLC president.
Officials from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were called to testify before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) yesterday on November 14.
Today (15) in Parliament, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, along with other parliamentarians, severely criticized Prof. Bandara’s conduct during the meeting as COPE Chairman. They accused him of deliberate biased actions and inability to conduct and impartial inquiry while tacitly supporting SLC, raising concerns about whether he had been influenced or compromised. They alleged that he distracted from the main accusations. The opposition leader asked whether has was also bought over by SLC suggesting possible collusion.
In response to the criticisms, Prof. Ranjith Bandara defended his actions, stating that he was attempting to bring order to the meeting when several members were asking questions simultaneously.
However, emerging information indicates that he has been serving as a consultant for SLC in 2018, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest that was not disclosed. Various videos circulating with regard to the COPE meeting also contain footage where the Chairman body language suggest possible tacit collusion, according to the allegations.
The Opposition Leader’s query about whether Prof. Bandara had been influenced or compromised adds another layer of concern regarding the integrity of professionals in parliamentary roles. It is strange that Prof. Bandara did not think that it was necessary to disclose the conflict of interest.
When the conduct of professionals in parliament stoops below all accepted norms do we have any hope of expecting integrity and professionalism from the people’s representative to seek justice and to address corruption.