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Let performance be the judge, says Presidential sibling
P.G. Kumarasinghe, the President’s younger brother, sifts through a generous pile of laminated paper qualifications. He picks one out and says, “This is important”.
Mr. Kumarasinghe in his office
It was a certificate awarding him membership of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Sri Lanka. There are many more diplomas, degrees and post-graduate accomplishments in the two cardboard files he has pulled out.
Pallewatta Gamaralalage Kumarasinghe Sirisena (he goes as P.G. Kumarasinghe) has just been made Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom. Both he and the Maithripala Sirisena administration, which ran a scathing electoral campaign against nepotism, are getting flak over the fraternal appointment.
Mr. Kumarasinghe turned down interviews but agreed, after many telephone calls, to a brief chat. He moved into his new office on Thursday and chaired a board meeting. More changes in SLT management are expected but “not yet decided”, he said. The government holds a 49.5 percent stake in SLT through the Secretary to the Treasury while Global Telecommunication Holdings N.V. of Netherlands owns 44.98 percent. The remaining shares are publicly traded.
“It is not an obstacle for the brother of a President to hold a job if he has the right abilities and qualifications,” Mr Kumarasinghe maintained. “I have completed 30 years in government service. For much of that time, my brother has held powerful ministerial positions. I can remember him having Mahaweli, irrigation, lands, land development, environment and health portfolios.”
Mr. Kumarasinghe’s last public job was General Manager of State Timber Corporation (STC). In November 2014, after his brother defected to challenge incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential election, his office was sealed. Two days later, he received a letter from STC Chairman Siripala Amarasinghe removing him from his post “for the smooth functioning of the organisation”.
“I lost, not only my job, but my telephone and other facilities,” Mr. Kumarasinghe said. However, he was reinstated ten days after his brother’s electoral win and then awarded the more prestigious position at SLT.
Now, he says, let performance be the judge. SLT is already one of the country’s most profitable ventures. In the financial year 2013, the company posted group revenue of Rs. 60.1 billion while net profit (after tax) rose to Rs. 5.4 billion. There is, thus, no plausible explanation for why the earlier Chairman was replaced.
But Mr. Kumarasinghe claims he can do better. “SLT is a strong contributor to the national economy and accounts for a large slice of Treasury income,” he said. “I can use my business management and financial knowledge to increase profits. You will see the progress within six months.”
At present, Mr. Kumarasinghe is “reading up” on the telecommunications industry because (and he makes no secret of it) his knowledge here is limited. He is consulting industry experts and chartered engineers. “Actually, I have to learn so many things,” he admitted. “That is not a problem. If you know business management, you can run telecom, port, petroleum, anything.”
Mr. Kumarasinghe is studying the SLT’s 2015 strategic and business plan. He will then decide on priorities after consulting this board and operational staff. His objective is to enhance SLT’s contribution to the Treasury. “One thing I will never do is to block channels on satellite television and I know His Excellency the President will not ever given instructions to do that,” he declared.
“But you didn’t write down the rest of my qualifications,” Mr Kumarasinghe said, suddenly. With so much criticism about his selection, he is keen to prove that he is not a nonentity riding to fame on his brother’s name.
One among 12 brothers and sisters, Mr Kumarasinghe is a student of Gampaha Bandaranayake College. As a young man, he studied English at the Jinaratana Technical College run by Ven Galaboda Gnanissara Thera (Podi Hamuduruwo) of Gangaramaya Temple.
Mr Kumarasinghe is an honors graduate in public administration management from the Sri Jayawardenapura University. He has two Masters degrees, a business management diploma, an accountancy and financial management diploma, a project management diploma—and a veritable host of other credentials best viewed on his spanking new Wikipedia page. They are too numerous to list here.
One year after leaving university, Mr Kumarasinghe applied for a job at the Road Development authority (RDA) and was recruited as Accounts Assistant. He worked as Procurement Manager for Asian Development Bank funded projects and was gradually promoted to Finance Manager. He was at RDA for 19 years.
Mr. Kumarasinghe also worked as Executive Director at State Development and Construction Corporation (SDCC) and, in 2005, received a political appointment as Working Director of State Timber Corporation. He was only ten days on in the job when a vacancy for General Manager arose.
“There was real competition for the post,” he said. “I can remember there were ten applicants including a former Auditor General. An independent interview board selected me a General Manager and I held that position from 2006 till recently.”Mr Kumarasinghe maintains that it is “people like me, who rise from ground level through the free education system, that will feel for and do something for the poor of this country”.
“I have spent 30 years in government service,” he narrated. “You can earn enough money within two years if you want but I didn’t do that. Come and see where we live. We have a 15-perch plot of land in Weliweriya, Gampaha, and we stay in an old house.”
While at STC, he reportedly used the same vehicle he was allocated in 2006 till he left last week. “Even at Telecom, I will not take anything other than what a Chairman is entitled to,” Mr Kumarasinghe said. “Today, I asked for a car to go home in but I said I don’t want any hired vehicles.”