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By Sandun Jayawardana  

The fallout of Sri Lanka’s disastrous cricket world cup campaign reverberated in the Parliament chamber on Thursday (9) as dozens of MPs from the government and opposition lined up to lambast the current administrators of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and demanded their resignation.

While there was universal condemnation over the current administration of SLC, speakers from both sides offered differing views on how to move forward on restructuring both the SLC board and the game in general.

Previously scheduled Parliamentary business for Thursday had been postponed during a special meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business the previous day, where it was decided that both the government and the opposition would present a joint resolution for “Removal of the officials including the Chairman of the corrupt Sri Lanka Cricket.”  

The resolution was presented by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa while it was seconded on the government side by Minister of Ports, Shipping & Aviation Nimal Siripala De Silva.

Presenting the resolution, Mr Premadasa repeatedly attacked the current group of “corrupt” SLC administrators and urged all 225 MPs to join together to force those officials out. By presenting a joint resolution sponsored by both the government and opposition, Parliament was sending a message to SLC administrators that they can no longer continue with their corrupt practices by relying on political divisions within the legislature, said Mr Premadasa. “That ends today. If they (SLC administrators) have a shred of dignity left, they should resign within the day.”

Mr Premadasa urged MPs to “stand up and take a principled stand” irrespective of their political and ideological differences to protect the game of cricket in the country from corrupt administrators.

By jointly passing the resolution, Parliament was endorsing the public opinion that had been built up regarding SLC and its current administrators, Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said. “By passing this resolution, we are endorsing these public sentiments and sending a strong message to the administrators to stop doing these unnecessary acts and to step down from their posts.”

The minister though, pointed out that the resolution was non-binding and Parliament had no power to remove SLC administrators. “There is also no point in removing one SLC Board and installing another one. What happens if they too engage in corruption? Therefore, we need to lay the foundation to introduce a mechanism whereby an opportunity is afforded to elect a good set of people to administer SLC. We must also ensure that it is free from any form of political interference,” he said.

The issues with SLC are nothing new and they have plagued the game’s administration for a long time, observed National People’s Power (NPP) MP Vijitha Herath. “The Cricket Board is influenced by politics on one side and money on the other. The whole country knows that SLC is in the grip of a mafia,” said the MP. He thanked Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe for withstanding pressure from some of his own Cabinet colleagues and even the President in taking firm decisions in relation to SLC.

Mr Herath noted that Parliament’s Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) under former Chair Sunil Handunnetti had conducted investigations into fraud and corruption at SLC and summoned its officials before it on several occasions. “The Sports Minister has requested a forensic audit of SLC but COPE did conduct a forensic audit on corruption at SLC surrounding television broadcast rights for cricket matches. That report is with COPE but the probe was not carried forward owing to the change of government. The present COPE can carry that investigation forward if it wishes.”

Chief Government Whip and Urban Development Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said he had concerns regarding the interim committee appointed by Sports Minister Ranasinghe and had conveyed these to him during the week’s Cabinet meeting. “I fully agree with the steps he took to appoint an interim committee but I told him I would have done things differently because both Arjuna Ranatunga and Upali Dharmadasa, who are members of the interim committee, have been highly critical of (Current SLC President) Shammi Silva. As such, even the Court would look on such appointments with suspicion,” he noted. Minister Ranatunga also pushed back against claims that President Ranil Wickremesinghe is against the appointment of an interim committee. “The SLC drafted its constitution to ensure that those in power can remain there indefinitely. The President knows this and it was he who suggested that we include a reference in this resolution about amending the Sports Law. Even the opposition leader agreed to it.”

Representing the Freedom People’s Congress, MP Prof. Charitha Herath urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to accept the unanimous resolution approved by Parliament. “Given that he was appointed by Parliament, the President’s stance must be the same as the one adopted by Parliament,” he stressed. He noted that the problems with the SLC Board have been in existence even before the current Board and that the country’s Sports Law is vague when it comes to the relationship between sports bodies and the Sports Minister. “We need to rectify this matter or address it in the new Sports Law,” he emphasised. Prof. Herath also stressed that SLC cannot claim that it only answered to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the clubs that votes at the SLC election given that the Sri Lanka cricket team is representing Sri Lanka as a country.

Detailing a long list of alleged incidents of large scale corruption at SLC, Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe defended his decision to appoint an Interim Committee to replace the current SLC administration. The minister said the Committee appointed under Justice K.T. Chitrasiri had drafted a new Constitution for SLC, which will be presented to Parliament under the new Sports Law. In addition, the new Sports Law will establish a Sports Regulatory Authority and a dedicated Sports Tribunal to probe misconduct in sports. The draft Bill was now ready and will be presented to the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to explore the current issues with regard to Sri Lanka Cricket.

Mr Ranasinghe pointed out that the SLC administration had invited the same three retired judges he had appointed to the Interim Committee to form an independent committee of their own. “How then can the SLC claim political interference? If there is political interference, why is the SLC asking people I appointed to form a separate committee? The ICC should see this.”

The Sports Minister noted there was every opportunity for the current SLC administration to subject themselves to a probe and prove their innocence. If that happened, he pledged to withdraw his gazette appointing an Interim Committee.

The resolution was adopted without a vote in the end, though there was some controversy afterwards with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) claiming that while it had asked for a division by name, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena went ahead and declared that the resolution had been carried unanimously.