Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Responds to Allegations Raised by Opposition Leader Hon. Sajith Premadasa

Media Release
1st December 2023

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is compelled to address the allegations raised by the opposition leader, Honorable Sajith Premadasa, during today’s (1st December, 2023) parliamentary session pertaining to SLC’s program of establishing LED digital screens in three of its international venues. Mr. Premadasa questioned the procurement process and alleged that 1) SLC has under invoiced when importing LED screens for the project, 2) SLC has paid money for the supplier before opening the tender, and 3) unreasonably disqualified one of the final bidders. Hence, we wish to provide the following clarifications on all three allegations:

1)ALLEGED CLAIM ON UNDER-INVOICING SLC

vehemently denies this allegation of under-invoicing, as contrary to the claims, SLC asserts that there was no such importation by the organization.

2) ALLEGED CLAIM ON PAYMENT BEFORE THE OPENING OF THE TENDER

The opposition leader’s assertion that SLC paid a sum of U$ 29,000 to the supplier on the 13th of July 2023, a day before the opening of the tender, is unequivocally false, and SLC wishes to clarify that no such payment was made and the initial sum of the project cost was disbursed only upon the arrival of the project materials at SLC’s designated sites.

3) ALLEGED CLAIM ON UNREASONABLY DISQUALIFYING ONE OF THE FINAL
BIDDERS

A competitive bidding process was undertaken in accordance with proper procurement guidelines. The procurement process was conducted by a qualified procurement committee, which consisted of a representative from the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. The disqualification of one of the bidders was done in accordance with the National Procurement Guidelines due to procedural lapses. The respective bidder was disqualified as it failed to submit the ‘Form of Bid’ with the authorized signature, a mandatory requirement of the National Procurement Guidelines. In light of these clarifications, Sri Lanka Cricket urges the Honorable Opposition Leader to exercise caution and refrain from making misleading statements using the parliamentary privileges that could adversely affect Sri Lanka’s most iconic sport brand.

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