Lalin’s Column: SLC-After ‘5 years’ only shame (lajja) will remain

The new boss of SLC is quoted by BBC (Sandeshaya) as saying that the financial woes of SLC will not be solved for another 5 years. The Minister is however quoted as saying he will correct (‘teach him a lesson’?) Dharmadasa , when he meets him at SLC HQ. Dharmadasa is also a very prominent businessman and unlike the Minister understands financials. Is the writing on the wall?

Those responsible for its parlous state are determined to see that SLC, denounced by a former Sports Minister CB Ratnayake as the 3rd most corrupt organisation in SL, reaches an impregnable, unchallenged position, as the most corrupt. It is without any hope of redemption, recovery or remission. In fact SLC has no intention to be anything otherwise but incorrigibly corrupt. All this is showcased to the cricketing world. It is the only game in which SL ever became world champions. It operated on shoe string budget then. Today SLC operating on a billion rupees budget has reached global pariah status. It has no shame (lajja).

The cricketers themselves, now striving hard to remain relevant, were many of them the toast, if not the boast of the Island people a short time ago. They have shown amazing resilience. Despite being publicly demeaned as incapable of beating even a South African A team, they came back with a vengeance, no less, to win for the first time one test of three and two ODIs over there. They were pummelled in the first test by an innings and vaporised in the second ODI for fewer than 50 runs! In the face of shameless exploitation of their talents and creaming of SLC revenues by its management, visibly shaken mentally if not morally, they showed their reserves of skills if not their indomitable spirit. They had not even being paid their salaries for nearly a year. How they carried on playing despite the embarrassment, shame and ignominy, says a lot for their exceptionally strong team spirit and pride as Sri Lankans. The people’s hearts went out to them even as they roundly cursed the administrators of SLC.

SLC has been infested, infected, diseased and devoured by a set of incorrigible, rhinoceros skinned, unrepentant financial vampires and their lick spittle camp followers ever since SL became cricket world champions in1996 under Ana Punchihewa. He was unceremoniously ditched by now fashionable farcical ‘elections’ immediately thereafter. Sumithipala had a go then but dodged the elections this time. Why? Since then corruption has been SLC’s unshakeable vision, mission, credo, theme, song and dance and not so hidden agenda ever since. Not a great deal considering South Asia’s murky reputation in the game and in general.

Former cricket captain Ranatunge (now a politician like his father) who was SLC boss at one time has averred that SLC lost US $ 716 million under the ‘recent interim committee’. His brother was the Secretary, (the N name) during that greasy time. Despite allegations of fraud he has been ‘elected’ to the new SLC board.

The nepotism practised by SLC’s then grim faced Chairman DS Silva was astounding. He had his 2 Dandeniya nephews employed in jobs that controlled massive funds with thumping salaries in US dollars. They had no qualifications for the jobs they were appointed to without interviews. One of them was alleged not to have passed his O levels. Suraj who was in charge of stadia construction and maintenance where the biggest frauds occurred had been running a foreign employment service for house maids before contesting the Moratuwa seat as a losing UNP candidate. The cost estimate for the stadia was US $ 69m (SL Rs 3.5 billion). The actual ‘expenditure’ was SL Rs 7 billion. Dharmadasa has already begun sugar coating that plain as daylight robbery by blithely saying (in the Sunday Leader) he as a ‘building contractor’ knows how costs over runs occur! Who then can save SLC?

At the end of any World Cup (WC), national cricket board(s) that ran the tournament is expected to have raked in sufficient funds to meet all expenses for the following 4 years at least. SLC instead counted the chickens (in millions) while devouring the eggs (in billions). Amazingly SLC, once one of, if not the highest revenue earners in SL, became a basket case at the end of the WC! The Minister preferred to limit his ‘criticism’ to lesser evils in the system .He said that there will be no more free banquets for selected people and free tickets for petty VIPs. In this way he avoided the monstrous frauds that everyone knows about. SLC had no had no money to pay its not inconsequential staff salaries!

Aluthgamage requested a government loan of Rs 26 billion on 28 June 2011. When he did not receive it he made out that it was delayed. Dharmadasa now says SLC has got a loan in billions of rupees from BOC on the basis of its future tour plans and TV rights. He also says he wants only to put SLC on the right path. What sort of a bank will give an entity that was expected to rake in the shekels after the WC has debts running into billions of rupees due to fraud, any loans not just in billions?

Then came another shocker. The players had not been paid since March 2011.The South African cricket board with a stroke of psychological ingenuity, if not out right mockery, made the most of it to rub the humiliation deep. Lajja. They offered, tongue in cheek, to pay the SL cricketers part of their salaries! Was anyone in power in SLC overcome with shame as were the citizens of SL? Not in the least.

All those responsible for the pitiable plight SLC is in, are kept in clover by playing musical chairs with the board appointments. This is Dharmadasa’s second stint as the SLC boss. N Ranatunge whose ‘involvements’ and transactions are legendary has shamelessly also come back in what was seen as a ‘package’ deal. He had earlier admitted that vital computer evidence of SLC’s alleged fraudulent financial dealings were lost. Whose role will it be to hide evidence of fraud in SLC? Will it be the sixth religion in SL since Dharmadasa, a Buddhist, has recklessly said cricket is the fifth!

The new chairman of selectors is de Mel. He had been parachuted as SL Petroleum boss and played a decisive part in a massive hedging scam that caused billions of rupee losses to it (Island). He has come back for the 3rd time to the same post.

The last time he was described by Attapattu, the present ‘batting’ coach earning it is said Rs 5 lakhs a month, as a ‘joker’ in charge of ‘Muppets’ whoever they are meant to be including one Anurasiri (who has done another back door job). What will Attapattu do now especially as the batsmen he ‘coached’ let down the side miserably and disgracefully most of the time and the team was time and again rescued by the all rounders and bowlers? Will he ostracise the new coach like he did Marsh and the best players in South Africa? Is he eventually to be the coach?

Will Jayasuriya, once a batsman of repute but later one causing great pain to the team and national psyche first by insisting on playing if not fiddling in his old age but now allegedly an eminence grise, bail him out again? Who other than Secretary Ranatunge, who is also boss of a TV station, will recommend Jayasuriya who struggles painfully in the language, to make commentaries in English for ‘Ten Sports’ and why? The rumours are ugly, dark and run into deep holes in the ground. Dharmadasa has said the TV rights were ‘undersold’ without giving reasons or figures. Some transparency.

Dharmadasa has also said that the security budget has been reduced from Rs 67 million to Rs 1.5 million. So who made a container load of rupees on security and what were the ‘mobile’ rewards for the individual concerned?

Then there is Mendis, a picture of gross obesity unrivalled in the cricket boards of the world. He has made devastating, slanted if not planted selections. Thilan Samaraweera, a gentleman will not tell. But Tillekeratne will even if it is to the ICC only. Has Mendis been kicked upstairs to keep him in bondage until an opportunity comes to give him another chance to finally give the coup d grace to SL cricket?

Finally there is the South African coach Ford who has been recruited disgracefully and shamelessly undercutting Marsh on the advice undoubtedly of Jayasuriya and Co. Ford has an unenviable, disgusting if not unsavoury reputation of accepting and reseling on contracts of 3rd world countries. How long will he last? What will he spout before getting out? Apartheid?

This time not Navaloka or even Siddhalepa will be able to cure the lepers’ if not the beggars’ wounds. The once good ship SLC may have a fate worse than the Titanic or is it Costa Concordia. Both were giants that capsized. There are too many of Joseph Conrad’s N-word(s) of the Narcissus in SLC. The ghosts of SL cricketing greats will haunt SLC. Will SLC bosses abandon ship or hang their heads for ever in shame (lajja)? Who amongst them cares who wins as long as there is cash flowing to keep them happy? They will be no resignations until the cricket fans come over the high walls of Maitland Place? World champions of 1996, SL cries for thee.

- Asian Tribune –

- Tweet
-

-
-
-