Rohan Fernando responds to Daily FT article

Rohan Fernando who was ousted by its Board as Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom-Mobitel yesterday sent the following statement in response to the Daily FT article titled “Rohan out, Reyaz in at SLT helm” published on Friday 21 July 2023 (https://www.ft.lk/top-story/Rohan-out-Reyaz-in-at-SLT-helm/26-750835).

It is with great disappointment that I note you have either purposely or have been misinformed of certain facts pertaining to the said ‘boardroom coup’.

Following points in the FT article have been contested by Fernando and FT publishes its response within brackets.

The key factors I wish you to correct are: 

1. You mention that I had been asked to resign but I had refused and hence had to be voted out. This is completely false. Neither the President of the country, the Secretary to the Finance Ministry nor the majority of SLT-Mobitel Directors had requested nor informed me of such a requirement verbally or in writing, at any previous occasion. The resolution to remove me was mooted just as I began conducting the Board meeting with the agenda listed. There was no agenda item referring to this matter either.

(FT article clearly stated the call for resignation came from the Board. Daily FT is also in possession of a letter dated 1 February 2023 from the Presidential Secretariat to Finance Ministry Secretary communicating President’s approval to appoint Reyaz Mihular as SLT Chairman in place of Rohan Fernando in accordance of Articles of Association.)

2. You mention that I was voted out unanimously by the Directors while expanding later in the article as  Mohan Weerakone and Lalith Senevirathne abstaining. First and foremost both these Directors objected to my ‘coup style’ removal; they did not just abstain. Furthermore, being a respected daily broadsheet you would appreciate the word ‘unanimously’ as per the Oxford dictionary refers to ‘if a group of people are unanimous, They all agree  on something’. So if 2 Directors are objecting (or as your own article refers to are abstaining) and 1 Director/Chairman is objecting, how can you state that Directors unanimously voted to remove me?

(FT article didn’t mention Fernando was unanimously voted out. FT article listed who voted and who abstained. The FT article only mentioned “Thereafter a resolution to appoint Non-Executive Independent Director Reyaz Mihular was passed unanimously.” )

3. Your article scurrilously and irresponsibly refers to the SLT share price going up that day and tries to infer that my removal has had no negative market impact. This conclusion is neither warranted nor is expected of a respected senior journalist because that assumption and inference only illustrates your partiality and reporting bias.

(In the financial press, checking how the share price fared following a major development as ouster of Chairman following dissent in the Board, is a standard practice)

4. You also refer to sources who spoke to you referring to Q2 results which will vindicate the decision to remove me as the Chairman due to impending losses of the company. I think it’s irresponsible on the part of your information sources and yourself as the Editor to publish unverified, sensitive information which can be detrimental in a highly competitive industry such as ours.

(FT article also said thus: “However he (Fernando) cautioned that in FY24, due to higher taxation, exchange rate fluctuations and higher costs, SLT performance will be impacted.” The new SLT Chairman’s statement to the staff (see separate story in FT today) also refers to impending Q2 results stating when out, stakeholders “will understand why the Company needs significant effort to turnaround.”

Editor’s Note: FT stands by its article published on Friday 21 July 2023.