One Chairman to manage a cluster of institutions

2 January 2020 08:47 am

Instead of appointing separate chairmen for related state institutions, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided to place them under the purview of a single Head for better coordination of work and cost reduction, an official said yesterday.

In one instance, Jayantha Wickramasinghe has been appointed the chairmen of four government institutions- Coconut Cultivation Board, the Coconut Development Authority, Coconut Research Institute and Kapruka Fund Management Board.

Mr. Wickramasinghe served as CEO of Lanka Logistics and Technologies Limited, and also at the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Authority from 2006 to 2015.

A government official said this had been done as otherwise, the authorities of such institutions would proceed in different directions hampering work.

In another instance, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Board, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and Hotel School have been placed under Kimarli Fernando as the Chairperson.

The official said plans are underway for shared services for procurement, human resource administration, finance and streamlining the process. He said it was an exercise aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency. (Kelum Bandara)