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Tourism Ministry pressuring SLTDA to hire unqualified top official

22 Sep 2022

  • Sources reveal individual lacks tourism background, adequate work experience
  • SLTDA Chair confirms unqualified appointment, refuses to comment further
By Imesh Ranasinghe    A rift is forming between the senior tourism officials at the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) and the Ministry of Tourism and Lands, The Morning Business learnt, as the Tourism Ministry Secretary wants to appoint a Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) officer as the SLTDA Deputy Director General (DDG) despite the officer lacking adequate experience or qualifications. A highly placed source within the SLTDA told The Morning Business that Tourism Ministry Secretary Chulananda Perera is attempting to appoint an Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Ayurveda to the SLTDA DDG post, which is the highest recruited post at the SLTDA, despite them lacking any tourism-related experience or adequate management or director-level experience. The individual set to be appointed as the DDG is a Grade II officer in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), whereas the relevant post is normally reserved for Grade I or Special Grade Officers. According to the approved management services Scheme of Recruitment (SOR) Procedure, internal (within SLTDA) or external candidates can be selected for the post of DDG, where external candidates should possess a minimum of 18 years of post-qualification service experience in a management-level post in a public corporation, statutory board, or reputed private sector institution, with a minimum of three years at senior management level. Also, the candidate should possess a Bachelor’s Degree recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in one of the following fields: Management, Business Administration, Business Management, Public Administration, Human Resources Management, Economics(special), Marketing, Tourism Management, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Tourism Planning, Tourism Development, Tourism Industry Management (Special), or International Relations. Additionally, an external candidate with a Doctorate in any of the above fields would be eligible with a minimum of three years of post-qualification service experience after the Doctorate in a senior management-level post in a public corporation, statutory board, or reputed private sector institution with an excellent service record. However, the individual nominated for the DDG post by the Ministry Secretary only holds a Bachelor in Information Technology, with 10 years of work experience at the managerial level and five years at the non-managerial level. However, Ministry Secretary Perera refuted claims that the individual is unqualified for the post, saying that the qualifications do not apply to recruits from the SLAS. Sources charged that the DDG appointment by the Secretary has the support of the SLTDA Director General – due to the two of them being colleagues from the SLAS – as well as the representatives of the Tourism Ministry on the SLTDA Board of Directors. However, the private sector representatives are not keen on getting involved in administrative matters, leaving SLTDA Chairman Priantha Fernando to be the only one on the board directly opposed to the appointment. The matter is set to be taken up at the SLTDA Board meeting scheduled for today (22). Sources also revealed that the Ministry Secretary has been avoiding discussing the matter with the SLTDA Chairman even at the weekly meeting held between the Minister of Tourism, the Ministry Secretary, and the chairmen of the four national tourism institutions – the SLTDA, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM), and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB). When The Morning Business contacted SLTDA Chairman Fernando, he confirmed that there has been an appointment made by the Ministry that does not meet the required qualifications, but refused to comment further on the matter. “Any appointment has to be placed before the Board for approval,” he said adding: “It is a matter of whether or not it conforms with the procedures and regulations; even if it fails to conform, and if it is a decision taken at a higher level, it will still be the Board that will have to make the final decision.”  He thus confirmed that the Board will have the final say on the relevant appointment.  The Morning Business could not contact Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and Lands Chulananda Perera regarding the matter, as he was not in the country at the time.


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