John Keells To Take Tourist Board To Court
- Tourist Board owes over Rs. 45 million to city hotels
By Nirmala Kannangara
John Keells Limited has filed legal action against the Sri Lanka Tourist Board over its failure to pay their dues for the IIFA awards staged in Colombo last year amounting to over Rs. 45 million.
Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel and Walker Tours, all part of John Keells Limited, are taking the Tourist Board to court for failing to make payments connected to the IIFA awards over the past one and a half years, sources at John Keells Limited told The Sunday Leader.
Officials attached to the City Hotels Association (CHA) speaking to The Sunday Leader on the condition of anonymity said that the Tourist Board had not made any payment since June last year. “The Tourist Board owes around Rs. 45 million to the city hotels and all our attempts to get the money have failed,” CHA sources said.
The Galadari Hotel told The Sunday Leader that the Tourist Board owes it over Rs. 4 million while the Board also owes Ramada Hotel around Rs. 1 million.
When contacted by The Sunday Leader the Financial Controller at Hotel Taj Samudra Mitun Jayaraman said that he could not disclose the amount which the Tourist Board owed the hotel but he confirmed that the Board owes the hotel a substantial amount. “I cannot disclose the details as it was a business deal. However we are due a substantial amount,” Jayaraman told The Sunday Leader.
Hilton Hotel, Galle Face Hotel and Continental Hotel also did not wish to comment on the amount the Tourist Board owes them.
Meanwhile the Chairman of the Tourist Board Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, when contacted by The Sunday Leader, said that the Board has neither failed nor delayed payments. He insisted that there is a long procedure to be followed in making such payments and that is why the money was not paid immediately.
“We cannot make payments over the counter. We have to follow certain procedures to obtain approval to make the payments. The Treasury is yet to give approval as there have been many lapses in the payment procedure. Until it is solved the payments cannot be made,” Dr. Godahewa said. When asked how long it would take to make the payments, Dr. Godahewa said he was not aware of it.
