Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Tuesday, 23 October 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
New appointments to the Board of Investment (BoI) remain in limbo, with three possible options under consideration by President Maithripala Sirsena.
Last week’s decision by President Maithripala Sirisena to suddenly dismiss the BoI Director General was also arbitrary, Daily FT learns.
According to the BoI Act, without a Board, the President cannot legally remove the Director General from his post as it requires consultation with the Board of Directors to oust the Director General from his office, sources said. 
Despite the BoI issuing a statement last Friday noting that its Director General Duminda Ariyasinghe was still in office, Daily FT learned that he was removed from his post on Thursday.
The Director General of the BoI acts as both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer.
“The Board was asked to resign and they did on last Wednesday (17). The Director General was removed the day after (18),” sources told Daily FT on conditions of anonymity.
Sources also said Thilan Wijesinghe, Prof. Lalith Samarakoon and Asela Iddawela have been shortlisted as potential candidates for the post of Chairman of BoI.
It is also learned that plans are underway to give the Director General post to the Chairman, ending the practice of the last few years of having two officials for the two positions.
At present, the country’s investment promotion body has no Chairman, Board or Director General to carry out its daily operations, particularly for promotion, coordination and facilitation of foreign direct and local investments.
President Sirisena last Wednesday (17) dissolved the Board of Directors of the State-run Bank of Ceylon, the People’s Bank and the Board of Investment.
Daily FT learned that the Secretary to the President had communicated that the President wished to reconstitute the Boards, hence requested the members of the Board to resign. Bank of Ceylon was led by Ronald Perera PC, People’s Bank by Hemasiri Fernando and BOI by Dumindra Ratnayake.
Senior United National Party (UNP) Ministers Public Enterprise Development Minister Lakshman Kiriella, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Highways and Road Development Minister Kabir Hashim also held discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday (19) in an attempt to persuade the latter to reverse the decision to dissolve the Boards of Directors of several State institutions.
