The government has defended the public sponsorship of the 63rd Asian Broadcasting Union General Assembly in Colombo, after an opposition MP asked in Parliament how the payment differed from the Tourism Promotion Bureau spending that put a former minister in court.
The two accounts of the sum do not match. The Daily FT reports the sponsorship as over Rs. 104 million; the Daily Mirror reports the figure raised in Parliament as Rs. 101 million. Neither is reconciled against the other here.
The government’s case
Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told the weekly post-Cabinet briefing that the money was channelled through the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau from tourism-related levies and was not a direct Treasury allocation, the Daily FT reported.
The Bureau’s board, which includes tourism and hospitality representatives, assesses sponsorship proposals, he said. Sri Lanka Tourism said on 2 November that the assembly was expected to generate promotional media value exceeding Rs. 250 million. Jayatissa said MTV Channel Ltd. was selected as host broadcaster by the ABU, not the government.
Asked why Cabinet approval had been sought if no state funds were used, he said approval was required given the sponsorship’s value. The assembly ran in Colombo from 30 October to 3 November, drawing around 350 delegates from a body of roughly 225 members across 66 countries.
The question in Parliament
SJB MP Mujibur Rahman raised the payment in Parliament on Wednesday, the Daily Mirror reported.
“The Minister in charge of Mass Media said state funds have not been used for the conference. If so, why did President Anura Kumara Dissanayake seek cabinet approval to release funds?” he asked.
Rahman set it beside the case against former minister Basil Rajapaksa, sued over Rs. 7.8 million of Tourism Promotion Bureau money allegedly spent in 2014 on printing T-shirts under the guise of tourism promotion. “If everyone is equal before the law, the theory applies to all,” he said.
Jayatissa, who is also Chief Government Whip, answered that Basil Rajapaksa had used the funds for an election campaign, while the current payment was tourism promotion. “Tourism Promotion Bureau has the right to spend funds for the promotion of tourism. It has spent funds for a kite festival, Colombo Marathon and a Rugby tournament to promote tourism through sports,” he said.
Rahman maintained that Jayatissa had misled the public at the Cabinet briefing.
Not reported
Neither filing resolves the Rs. 101 million / Rs. 104 million gap, publishes the Cabinet paper, or says what the sponsorship bought. Whether the Bureau initially declined the proposal — a question put at the briefing — is not answered. The basis for the Rs. 250 million media-value estimate is not given, and MTV Channel Ltd. has not commented. Broadcaster Chevaan Daniel was elected an ABU vice-president at the same assembly.
