SLR critical on Junior National team’s responsibility
A lengthy session of discussion on junior and youth rugby was the highlight at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR), held at the National Olympic Committee Auditorium in Colombo yesterday.
SLR President, Lasitha Gunaratne, stated that the Annual Accounts, audited by the Auditor General’s Department, were accepted at yesterday’s AGM, which was well-attended by SLR’s affiliations and membership.
“We are one of the sport governing bodies in Sri Lanka, with a clean record when it comes to accounts and finances. We, as office bearers of SLR, have been practicing this exercise for many years, and will continue the tradition, while upholding the quality of rugby,” Gunaratne stated.
According to Gunaratne, the fact of SLR’s expenditures on Junior and Women’s rugby, has played a major part in its spending, despite holding domestic competitions, development programmes and looking after the national 15s and 7s teams and its members and coaching staffs.
“We have spent around Rs. 35 Million on Junior Rugby and Rs 20 Million on Women’s rugby in the recent years. Yet, the SLR had managed to continue other projects and programmes, as planned. We receive 10,000 Pounds annually from World Rugby as grants and in the recent years, SLR has been forced to run without the funds from the Ministry of Sports, which majorly come in as contributions for foreign tours, and not directly as a grant. With SLR’s sponsor, Dialog Axiata, we have still managed to run the show,” Gunaratne added.
If SLR had a notable deficit on its accounts reports, according to the President of one of Sri Lanka’s oldest sports governing bodies, it would be after spending a considerable amount from its budget on the National Junior teams. However last season SLR was forced to withhold its spending on the National Junior teams, citing that maintaining junior age group national teams is a responsibility of Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA).
It was decided after discussions with the Ministry of Education that both SLR and the SLSRFA should sit together and decide on the national junior teams with the consent of the Ministry of Sports. But nothing had materialised positively on the recommendations of the Ministry of Education.
“The matter was discussed as a major topic at the AGM. It was decided that SLSRFA should work along with SLR, when it comes to raking in sponsors for the Schools League and International Tours. It should come in as a whole package when a sponsor is added for the Schools League, which should be followed by the National Junior teams. Or else SLR may have to remain at the receiving end, without any gains. Here we are not talking about what SLR gets, but we want to streamline the system, where it should not hinder SLR’s other programmes and projects,” Gunaratne clarified.
The former Royal College, CR&FC and Sri Lanka forward, stated that SLR will strongly look at finding a way to obtain its audited accounts reports from the Auditor General’s Department before March 31, next year, in order to hold its AGM and elections on time.
“We will give the Auditor General’s Department the challenge now, to provide us the audited accounts reports prior to March 31 or at least by May in 2020. We, as elected office bearers, would like to adhere to the SLR’s constitution and set an example to others to follow, and to practice that we need the support from other parties involved. Or else, SLR may have to look into obtaining assistance from World Rugby and its constitution, to hold the AGM on time,” revealed Gunaratne, who went on to say that a full report on accounts and the concluded AGM, would be released to the local media soon.