Former chairman pulls another trick out of his hat!

It looks as if the infamous former chairman of the Tea Board, B. A.C. Abeywardena doesn’t want to let go of the Tea Board. This time he is taking the Minister of Plantation Industries, its secretary and the entire Tea Board, the chairman and the 16 members of the director board to court.

Abeywardana was removed from his position as the chairman last month by Minister Milroy Fernando. The move came as a result of strong industry opposition which was directed at Abeywardana and his dictatorship-style of handling matters concerning the Tea Board and the industry.

This week the former chairman obtained an interim injunction order from the Appeal Court barring the Tea Board from holding any meetings or passing of resolutions without his presence. He has further prevented the implementation of any resolution which has been passed without him functioning as the chairman of the Tea Board.

“It is a tragic situation at the Tea board now. I can’t hold any meetings or implement any decisions taken by the board in the previous meetings,” said current chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi speaking to The Sunday Times FT.

Abeywardana in his petition has stated that it was his ‘hard work’ that enabled the Sri Lankan tea industry to obtain high prices at the auctions. However The Sunday Times FT learnt otherwise.

Sri Lankan Tea has fetched the highest prices in 2005 purely due to both international and local supply and demand. “There has been an upward trend in the tea prices for a long time. The attempt to take credit for that is unwarranted. On one of the board meetings the former chairman chaired he attempted to pass a minute which credited him and the board for the high prices fetched but the board has rejected it,” explained Hettiarachchi when asked about the claims made by Abeywardana.

Further he said that the increase in production volume is not due to the former chairman’s hard work but rather due to the favourable weather patters, expansion of acreage by tea small holder sector, increase of productivity and good practices followed by the companies. “If there is any credit it should be given to Abeywardana’s predecessor as the results of the policy decisions that were taken during his former would be seen only during Abeywardana’s period. That is the nature of agriculture. One cannot see immediate results on policy decisions as such,” said Hettiarachchi.

The Sunday Times FT had reported earlier about the difficulties the overseas Tea Promotion Centres were facing as a result of the chairman not releasing funds for promotional campaigns which were approved before his time. However in the petition he claims to have promoted Ceylon Tea “using all means available to him, both in his official and personal capacity”. On the contrary the paper learnt that his intention was to close down all four promotional centres.

It looks like the former chairman has developed an unbreakable attachment to his chair at the Board for him to make so many attempts to regain it. First he defied a presidential order to relinquish duties to assume duties in another post; then he tried to remain in office forcefully when the new chairman was appointed and now he is taking the entire Board and the minister to courts.