Dust settles at Sri Lankan Tea Board

After many battles between the former rumbustious Tea Board chairman and the stake holders of the industry the dust seems to have settled after the new Chairman took over.

“The new chairman is firmly in place, the Tea Board environment is quite harmonious,” said one of the directors of the board who declined to be named. The newly appointed Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi plans to make a few changes on how things were done during the year. “I am trying to clear the stage and finished off the accumulated work in the board,” Hettiarachchi said.

He is planning to get the promotional campaigns which have come to a ‘standstill during the current year’ activated at least for the coming year. “We have promotional officers stationed in the main countries but nothing has been done during the year as the former chairman had a different opinion about them. Our participation in trade fairs and other promotional activities in these countries were not certain. Now we have to plan ahead for the next year. Our promotional budget is small but we have to get the maximum advantage of it,” said Hettiarachchi.

The replanting subsidy scheme and the factory upgrading subsidy scheme are among two other main issues the new chairman is focusing on at the moment. With regards to the issue over the ‘suspension’ of services of former Director General H.D. Hemaratne, the new Tea Board chief plans to hold a proper inquiry. “I will initiate an inquiry which would be conducted by public administration accredited officers. Within the next two to three weeks I would have all the facts before me to determine what the next step should be,” said Hettiarachchi. (CD)