BOC Travels, a subsidiary of Bank of Ceylon, has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to settle Rs. 46 million in dues if it is to continue to issue air tickets to the ministry.
The company has given International Air Transport Association (IATA) a Rs 50 million guarantee to enable it to sell tickets to its clientele. However, the travel agency has said that Rs 46 million from this amount is owed to it by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Board of Directors of BOC Travels has resolved to make representations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Gerard Victoria, Director/Chief Executive Officer of BOC Travels has written to Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona, saying the company is unable to issue air tickets to its customers as its limit has been absorbed by the Foreign Ministry alone.
Dr. Kohona told The Sunday Times yesterday he was going into the matter. He said his Ministry would now have to find the money to settle the outstanding dues.
The debt from the Foreign Ministry alone is Rs. 46,281,318. Mr Victoria has said when credit was stopped Rs 8 million had been paid. Thereafter, a further Rs 8 million worth of tickets were issued for the Minister’s travel to Brazil and the United States. This had thus left the outstanding debt at more than Rs 46 million.
Foreign Minister Rohita Bogollagama who has already used up twice the budgetary allocation of Rs 21 million for foreign travel busted a further eight million rupees on a trip to Brazil with his family. The travel was by the Minister, his wife, daughter and boyfriend who is an official at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington.
The enhanced travel expenditure has caused problems for BOC Travels. “This trend has been developing over a period of time and we feel we are being taken for granted when it comes to payments,” Mr. Victoria said. | 
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