da pinnacle： Newly appointed Sri Lankan Sports Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, whoreplaced Laksman Kiriella on Friday after a cabinet reshuffle, has vowed tocome down hard on endemic corruption within national sports bodies, the mosthigh profile of which is the
Clemetine Fernando17-Sep-2001Newly appointed Sri Lankan Sports Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, whoreplaced Laksman Kiriella on Friday after a cabinet reshuffle, has vowed tocome down hard on endemic corruption within national sports bodies, the mosthigh profile of which is the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka(BCCSL).Speaking at his first public appearance, the closing ceremony of the 27thNational Sports Festival at the Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala, on Saturday,the minister declared: “I will not allow the businessmen to misuse money.”He warned officials that he would not hesitate to “punish” any guiltyoffenders.During the course of his speech he pledged greater support for out-stationareas, commenting that: “One has to invest money on rural sports developmentto produce more Sanath Jayasuriya’s.”In March this year the previous minister decided to dissolve the cricketboard and launched an ongoing inquiry into claims of financialmismanagement. The accusations centered on tenders by and payments for theconstructors responsible for constructing a five million dollarinternational stadium in Dambulla. No substantive evidence, however, has yetbeen revealed and no charges have been made.Since the dissolution, the board’s affairs have been managed by an InterimCommittee, headed by Vijaya Malalsekera, who is close to the PresidentChandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The Sports Minister also had met the officials of the Interim Committee on Saturday.