Planters claim corruption at state plantations

The Ceylon Planters Society (CPS) this week accused the authorities of mismanaging state-owned tea plantations saying corrupt practices and irregularities were rampant in this sector.

But officials at the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB), Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation (SPC) and Elkaduwa Plantations denied the charges saying the management has taken every possible step to run estates profitably or reducing losses despite the Treasury stopping the annual grant for fertilizer and other agriculture inputs.

CPS Chairman, Nissanka Seneviratne told a news conference that tea estates coming under these three state owned institutions were running at a loss during the past few years under the present management of the Public Estate Management and Development Ministry.

He said that the present authorities had failed to improve the productivity of tea estates and necessary agriculture inputs such as fertilizer had not been provided for estates for a long period of three years allowing it to perish. The authorities had focused attention on welfare projects and the setting up of restaurants using money granted by Treasury for agriculture inputs totally neglecting plantations, he said.

There are 12 estates under the SPS, 17 under the JEDB and nine estates are being managed by Elkaduwa Plantations. Nearly 20, 000 employees are working at these estates. Repairs of factory machinery and maintenance had not been undertaken for the past 10-15 years.

The state owned management institutions had failed to pay EPF, ETF contributions on behalf of these workers since 2005 and the revised salaries granted to the planting executives from the 2006 budget have not been paid to them so far, he charged. Gratuities of workers who obtained retirement had not been paid. A senior official of the JEDB told The Sunday Times FT that EPF and ETF of employees had been paid up to 2005 and they will pay the balance shortly. He added that 11 out of 17 estates are making profits although JEDB incurred a loss of Rs 28 million in 2005 and Rs 16 million last year. One third of the fertilizer requirement had been supplied to tea estates and no one can accuse the management of not providing inputs, he said.

Seneviratne said Elkaduwa Plantations had incurred a loss of Rs 22.5 million in the past seven months. He added that 38 estates had been allowed to perish since 2001 and the management had failed to supply fertilizer for tea plantations.

He added that there was a conspiracy to sell these estates to the private sector by showing that it was running at a loss. Seneviratne further noted that corruption and waste and irregularities were rampant in estates owned by the JEDB and the SPC due to the lack of a proper management recruitment procedure or a financial policy. The salary increment granted to estate superintendents and assistant superintendents had not been paid to them so far and this has caused an immense injustice for over 700 planters.

He said a General Manager aged 59 had been recruited to the SPC with a salary of Rs 65.000 per month violating the circular issued by the Ministry on the retirement age of 55 years. Elkaduwa Plantation recorded profits in 2005 but reported losses of Rs 19.5 million in 2006 and Rs 22.5 million during the first seven months of this year. Seneviratne said that it is unfortunate that the authorities had failed to focus attention on managing the government owned estates with proper and efficient management sans politicization. He pointed out that there was no alternative other than privatization if government authorities had failed to remedy the situation.

Denying these allegations Chairman of Elkaduwa Plantations Sanjaya Leelaratne said they brought down the losses of nine estates from Rs 56 million in 2005 to Rs 40.4 million last year and Rs 12 .6 million up to June this year . He pointed out that the new management has re-opened the Bandarapola Tea Factory giving employment to around 80 persons and action will be taken to reopen four other factories which were closed down by the previous regime.

Secretary of the Public Estate Management and Development Ministry Punyasiri Subasinghe told The Sunday Times FT that an inquiry was conducted on the allegations made against the management of Elkaduwa Plantations and its chairman and the report had been forwarded to relevant authorities.