Gammanpila scoffs at Minister Ranatunga’s appointment of brother as SLPA Chairman

• Demands disclosure of Dammika Ranatunga’s qualifications, “scientific basis” of appointing the SLPA Chairman
• Minister says his brother is qualified enough to be SLPA Chairman

By Shanika Sriyananda

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday challenged the Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga to disclose the qualifications of his brother, former cricketer Dammika Ranatunga, who was appointed the new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), last week.

“The relationship of the new SLPA Chairman with the Minister does not matter if he is the best qualified person to lead the SLPA,” Gammanpila told Daily FT.

Dammika Ranatunga assumed duties last Thursday.

Gammanpila said that when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointed as the Defence Secretary and the Chairman of the Urban Development Authority by his brother, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, they did not oppose the move as he was the most qualified person for the post.

“Had he not been appointed to the top post, we would not have seen the end of the 30-year-old war and also the beautification of Colombo city,” he said, adding that during the 2015 presidential election campaign Maithripala Sirisena and his supporters promised to appoint top officials to state institutes on a “scientific basis” through an independent committee.

“I am sure that Minister Ranatunga might have followed this principle in appointing his brother as the Chairman of the SLPA. It is time for him to disclose his qualifications as we are still unaware of his qualifications to be the SLPA Chairman,” he said.

However, Minister Ranatunga, who included his brother’s name on the list of nominees to the post, told the media earlier that there was no problem with the appointment since his brother was qualified enough to be SLPA Chairman.

Criticising certain media outlets for comparing him with members of the former Rajapaksa regime who were accused of nepotism, he said that the committee headed by the President Maithripala Sirisena would finally decide to appoint the best person for the job.

Several attempts to contact Minister Ranatunga to get a comment over the appointment of his brother as the SLPA Chairman failed.

“If he is a marine engineer or a marketer, who can lead the SLPA, we can understand the rationale behind this appointment. But we only know that he was a cricketer who played two Test matches for Sri Lanka,” Gammanpila said, adding that Minister Ranatunga, who was vociferous against the practice of nepotism by the Rajapaksa regime, would not have appointed his brother merely because he was a past cricketer.