To think the Country has
allowed this individual to continue destroy Sri Lankan institutions, is in
itself an indictment of his protector, patron, and partner in crime, the
President.
See above for links to articles relating
to the person and below a detailed report of his taking the Country for a ride
on his Mihin saga, where he appeared to have amassed most of the ill gotten
gains: Let the reader be the judge after considering the evidence.
Let us start with the report published
in the Nation newspaper in 2008: below
·
Confidence trickster
taking 20 million Sri Lankans for a ride
·
Rs.
2 Billion in 12 months � and rising, with interest payment at Rs 1 million plus per day
·
Top
Government officials unwittingly roped in and at risk
By Hawkeye
Every politician in the world needs and has assistants. Their role is simply that:
to assist their principal to accomplish various goals � be it political or personal.
But the story of Sajin De Vaas Gunawardena is a phenomenally rare one. For, he
has taken the friendship and gratitude of one man and abused that generosity to
an extent that the political hierarchy of Sri Lanka is at grave risk.
Sajin Vaas Gunawardena�s story has brought new meaning to the words �embarrassment� and �fraud�.
Sajin Vaas has proved himself to be a habitual phony. His capabilities had much
in store for him. Yet, inherently, his nature is that of a confidence
trickster. He plans, from the outset, what his goal would be � that, in itself, is no bad thing.
However, most successful people plan on their goal being achieved via the
opportunities presented to them, opportunities they have created for
themselves, in order to achieve the goals they set for themselves.
It is desperately sad, that a man who had so much going for him, a man who has
the backing of the very elite forces in this country, a man whose capability
can actually help achieve goals for his country and for his mentor, has chosen
to abandon these rare opportunities, apparently, in favour of misdeeds. His
apparent casting away of these opportunities has been done with seemingly gay
abandon � more at
home in the seedy nightclubs of Patpong Street rather than the genteel suburbia
of Mirihana.
When the President of the Palestine-Sri Lanka Friendship Society stopped over
in Dubai, while enroute to celebrations in Saudi Arabia, in 2002, he met with
many Sri Lankan migrant workers there. Among them was a Wharf Clerk by the name
of Sajin Vaas Gunawardena, working for one of the largest Sri Lankan based
freight forwarding companies, Trico International. Assisting the VIP with his
baggage formalities, Gunawardena fast made friends. Sajin displayed remarkable
foresight and a deep understanding of his new friend�s requirements. Immediately understanding
that there was no other person within the entourage who was as fluent in
Sinhalese as in English and who was computer literate and internet savvy, Sajin
immediately seemed an attractive proposition to the President of the Society.
Only half jokingly did he ask Sajin to, �come and work for me � assist me with my vision for Sri Lanka�. Within a month of that visit, Sajin Vaas
was back in Sri Lanka helping his new �friend�.
That the new �friend� then went on to become Minister of
Highways, Prime Minister and eventually, President of Sri Lanka, is
contemporary history.
Sajin worked tirelessly and with much enthusiasm for Mahinda Rajapaksa. The
President was impressed and rightly so: Sajin had, he felt, been a good choice.
He was young, energetic, and had obviously taken to everything like a duck to
water. Those around the presidential candidate were equally impressed. He would
make a good co-coordinator said the newly elected President in the wee hours of
the morning, when it became apparent that he was the victor at the presidential
campaign.
The President-elect was generous in his gratitude to Sajin: he told some of his
advisors that Sajin was a very useful fellow; give him a task and he was like a
dog with a bone. No sooner given than Sajin was sure to come back with the
goods. �He could
deliver,� was the
message: so he promptly appointed him as a co-coordinating secretary.
Generosity and trust abused - the stolen business plan
And that is when Sajin Vaas started plotting to do anything other than
co-coordinating work. Having convinced the new President of his capability, he
set about putting his established modus operandi into play. Apparently, his
interests lay not in serving his President and country � it was to embark on any form of money
making exercise. Sajin had already tasted the value of being close to someone
inherently part of the political establishment, when he was at the RDA. Mahinda
Rajapaksa, as Minister of Highways, was already aware of Sajin�s ability to �get things done�. Now, with his mentor holding the highest
office, it was a case of �Open Sesame�. Numerous offers came his way, but it
would have meant that Sajin would have to be simply a facilitator. That role
was not for him � he was
after something rather more substantial and which oodles more recognition. At a
party, he was given the idea of a new airline, but the offer to him was not
attractive enough: originally, he was meant to start an airline with private
sector investment. With his affinity and intimacy to the Presidential
Secretariat, he was after the �Main Event�. Having put Mahinda Rajapaksa�s naturally suspicious mindset to rest,
with the hard work he put in, he completely misled the new President and his
key advisors such as Lalith Weeratunga, with his audaciously simple plan to set
up an airline. He spoke passionately and with sanguinity about how he could set
up another State airline, but nowhere near the cost the Treasury incurred
setting up Air Lanka.
Sajin wasted no time and got in touch with a Sugath Rajapaksa � who provided a Business Plan for Mihin,
allegedly in exchange for promise of employment. Rajapaksa was absorbed into
Mihin Lanka, only to be sidelined once Sajin got going.
Obtaining a copy, with possible promises of a bigger role to play, Sajin
presented to the President, his proposal to set up a budget airline called
MIHIN LANKA. With clever play on the choice of name, he also gave the President
an offer he could not sensibly refuse: Sajin, was, he allegedly claimed, able
to start a budget airline with just Rs 700 million or approximately US$ 7.5
million.
The President had no reason to mistrust a man who had proved to be a very able
lieutenant; so he sent him to discuss matters with none other than his brother,
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. Impressed too, with Sajins� talk and having been told by Sajin that
this had the presidential nod, Gothabaya too agreed and extended his
cooperation. Sajin was then sent on to the Air Force Commander, as well as to
see Lalith Weeratunga.
Sajin now had a star-studded Board: Gothabaya Rajapaksa as Chairman, Lalith
Weeratunga, Air Marshal Roshan Gunathilaka (Commander of the Air Force),
Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and of course, himself.
He had convinced all these eminent persons of his ability to set up an airline
with only US$ 7.5 million, as he intended to set up a low cost airline.
None of the fellow Board members have any commercial expertise or acumen in
terms of Aviation. Clearly, they too placed emphasis on the fact that they were
dealing with �the
President�s man�. Which, probably, would have been exactly
what Sajin had in mind, in any event.
He bypassed the then Minister of Aviation Mangala Samaraweera, who, he was
privileged to know first hand, was on the way out of favour with the President,
and went straight on to the Director General of Civil Aviation. Minister
Samaraweera was suitably embarrassed in Parliament during questions, when he
had to admit to having no knowledge of the Mihin Lanka operation.
Fanning the fire of hatred and antagonism
To apparently fan the fires of hatred and antagonism between the President
and Minister Samaraweera, it is alleged that Sajin covertly arranged and
destroyed Mihin Lanka billboards on the airport approach road � one of the most heavily guarded roads in
the country. The blame fell squarely on Tiran Alles and Mangala Samaraweera,
prompting an enraged President to all but accuse Mangala directly at the
cabinet meeting.
Intimidating DG H.M.C. Nimalsiri
Sajin promptly visited the offices of the Director General of Civil
Aviation, the soft-spoken, professional H.M.C. Nimalsiri. In moves more at home
in the Arab World than elsewhere, he announced that �In the Name of The President� I am applying for an airline operators
licence and I want your fullest cooperation. If ever there was a straight bat,
that was Nimalsiri: he astutely said �yes, we will accommodate you� and arranged for Sajin to collect an application.
Nimalsiri�s Rahu
period thus started: he was allagedly bullied into compromising his
professional standards, coerced into ignoring rules imposed on the DGCA by the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) � an agency no less than from the United
Nations � and
banned from further work on the other local applications that were being
processed.
In a matter of weeks, Nimalsiri tendered his resignation � he was then allegedly bullied into taking
a 2 �-year
leave of absence instead, to save face � and joined COSCAP-SA. (see box) It is one
of the few instances when the involvement of Sajin Gunawardena has resulted in
greater benefit: Nimalsiri is now the Regional Coordinator for COSCAP-SA and is
highly remunerated at over Rs. 800,000 per month and is allowed to get on with
his job without any let or hindrance. Adding to the irony is that Nimalsiri
will have to actually oversee the local Civil Aviation Authority on matters of
continued airworthiness, a matter where Mihin Lanka is bound to run aground
with the use of old aircraft on the fringes of the safety regulations.
ICAO Audit will probe shortcomings
Ironically, Nimalsiri has now written to his successor DGCA, pointing out
to various shortcomings in the Mihin Lanka operation, from a safety point of
view.
Nimalsiri has done so just ahead of the annual audit of the Civil Aviation
Authority, which will be carried out by the International Civil Aviation
Authority, ICAO, in December this year.
Its payback time for Nimalsiri: he copied his correspondence to ICAO
headquarters in Montreal, for good measure.
With the Mihin AOC coming up for renewal in March, we are bound to see
interesting times ahead.
Acting Director General, Parakrama Dissanayaka is not a happy puppy � what, with the letter being copied to
Montreal and Sajin Vaas breathing fire down him. And all the while, he must be
seen to be doing a professional job!
Bullying Shafik Kassim and Expo Aviation
In a spectacular interpretation of the rules governing the issue of an
aircraft operators certificate (AOC) � the primary instrument needed to set up
an airline � and
proving Sajin�s
penchant for bending if not breaking the rules � Sajin persuaded Expo Aviation to �Dry Lease� its ageing 25.3 year-old Fokker F27 aircraft.
Shafik Kassim was given perhaps one of the worst deals in his commercial
career. Dry Lease the F27, but lend us the flight crew, Mihin will Wet Lease it
back to Kassims� Expo
Aviation without any form of monetary value. Except perhaps, Kassim must have
been acutely aware of the difficulties his other aviation operations may face,
had he not played ball with Gunawardena. After all, Kassim too, must be aware
now, that his old Fokker F27 was re-registered with the CAA as 4R-MRA. Another
clever play with the Presidential initials this time around. Gunawardena was
able to get his F27 approved, despite its age, because it was already
registered in Sri Lanka and thus came under the local Civil Aviation Authority�s purview!
Safety considerations and regulations compromised
Expo Aviation, despite being the owners of the Mihin 4R-MRA Fokker, now
have use of it via a wet lease. As the operator of the aircraft, they are
responsible to the CAA in terms of its operation. The owner of the aircraft, in
this case on paper only and for expediency, is Mihin Lanka. The owner too, has
to file a report with the CAA in terms of its maintenance and safety issues.
Thus, when the F27 had to return to Ratmalana after taking off for Palaly, Expo
dutifully filed an Accident and Incident Report with the CAA.
When Mihin failed to do its part (as they had �given back� the F27 on a wet lease) the CAA contacted
Mihin. Only to be told that they had �nothing to do with it�. Athula Dissanayake, a one time Air
Traffic Controller and Training Manager, is the de-facto Flight Operations
Manager at Mihin Lanka and the virtual Personal Assistant to its CEO, Sajin
Gunawardena. He displayed his lack of expertise for the regulatory process in
refusing to file an appropriate report with the CAA. It is for reasons such as
these that his qualifications are not acceptable to the CAA for the position of
Flight Operations Manager � hence our choice of words, �de-facto.� In fact, Mihin Lanka has a figure head
for that position in the form of retired Captain Errol Cramer who all but lends
his name for those purposes, but plays no active role at all. Had Mihin Lanka
been an airline without �influence�, it is extremely doubtful if the CAA would have accepted such
roles for sensitive posts such as this.
Another instance of many, giving credence to the accusation that Mihin Lanka
spends far too much, causing it to constantly lose money.
Mihin Lanka AOC in jeopardy � Expo Aviation set to sell F27
In a startling move, Shafik Kassim and Expo Aviation have now requested Mihin
to hand back the Fokker F27 back to them, as they wish to rid themselves off an
old and near decrepit aircraft. The manufacturer has closed down and spares are
only available from third party suppliers. It may also be that Expo are growing
tired of the constant headache of perpetrating and sustaining an agreement
reached with Mihin Lanka, reached purely to help Mihin Lanka.
In the event that this happens, Mihin Lanka will automatically lose its AOC and
would have to close down! Sajin Gunwardena, therefore, is a busy man: he has
contacted his Romanian interests to supply an ageing RomBAC 111, previously
used as a troop carrier in Afghanistan. Registration number YR-BRI and also
used by a short lived airline called Aerotrans out of Larnaca Airport in
Cyprus. This model is available in a handful of African states and used more
militarily than elsewhere.
The RomBAC 111-561RC, aircraft Sajin is negotiating on, is actually used more
as a troop carrier than passenger jet. Its relatively short range and age means
that Mihin Lanka is getting the aircraft purely � again � for expediency. The aircraft will have no
real use other than to serve the AOC rules and is likely to be parked incurring
charges. Airlines do not have aircraft to be parked and act as a cost centre
solely!
All this in the backdrop of the phenomenal financial losses incurred by Mihin
Lanka.
Damning Bank of Ceylon report shows Rs 2 billion loss
A highly confidential report on the state of Mihin Lanka has been prepared by
the Bank of Ceylon, which remains the largest lender to Mihin Lanka. Entrusted
to carry out this task was the Chief Financial Officer, Bank of Ceylon, Head
Office, Saliya Rajakaruna. The report tells a sorry story.
A financial loss of Rs. 2 billion � US$ 20 million � in the space of about 12 months, without
any asset worthy of note, is staggering by any standards.
The drain on the Treasury is colossal.
The Bank of Ceylon is not minded to grant any further monies to Mihin
Lanka. Their track record is one of ad hoc decision making and unjustified
spending. GSA�s are
allowed to make money far in excess of the accepted norms, giving rise to other
speculations as to the reasons for this.
Mihin Lanka is a State owned airline. They must adhere to basic principles,
prior to incurring expenditure. Transparency is sadly lacking and the entire
operation is run unprofessionally, leaving Mihin Lanka as a venture, in dire
straits.
Saliya Rajakaruna has painstakingly done his due diligence. His comparison of
the actual expenditure incurred and the Mihin Business Plan are completely at
odds with each other. Soon after reading this report, Sajin Vass was summoned
to see Minister Chamal Rajapaksa.
The Minister was perturbed to note that the interest component alone that Mihin
Lanka must pay each month is an astounding Rs 36 million � or in excess of Rs 1 million per day.
They have no substantial assets, but have senior staff lacking in expertise-
and - continue to spend lavishly, such as the recent tamasha in Singapore.
The Minister, however, was told by Athula Dissanayaka that Gunwardena was not
available. Eventually, after a number of attempts Gunawardena did turn up at
the Ministry to be roundly remonstrated by his Minister. He demanded
explanations and reports, and insisted that he be kept abreast of developments,
as it was he who was responsible to Parliament.
An incensed and furious Minister reprimanded Sajin and reminded him that Mihin
Lanka was not one man�s private property � it belongs to the �mahajanathawa�, thundered a usually placid Minister.
It was quite possible that the Minister was fully aware that Sajin is well
known to have a meeting, then go to the hierarchy and convey a completely
different story.
He urged him to get his act together before it was too late.
Top Government officials at risk in the future
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Air Marshall Roshan Gunathilaka, Lalith Weeratunga and
P.B. Jayasundera are all at risk due to the actions of Sajin Gunawardena. They
are all open to charges by any future investigation into the finances of Mihin
Lanka. Whilst they have never actively involved themselves in the running of
the airline, they are all nevertheless on the Board and therefore, have a
responsibility under the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Public funds are at stake.
If this was a private sector company the Board Members would have all resigned
or voted the CEO out of office a long time ago.
Yet, trading on the trust bestowed upon him, Sajin Vaas has consistently done
as he pleases without listening to rhyme or reason or to a professional.
Sajin Vaas Gunawardena set himself up in the airline business and has cost the
state a chilling US$ 20 million. He has nothing to show for it, not even a
contract for a lease on an Airbus 320 � which is what he promised in his now
infamous Business Plan.
The winds of change � and poisoning
He, apparently,
proceeds without regret and without the necessary expertise to run an airline.
At best, he had a good vision and should have had the presence of mind to allow
a professional to manage Mihin. But the winds of change have reached Sajin
Gunawardena. Fast losing his appeal, in desperate moves, possibly to gain the
sympathy of those that have been steadfast in giving him an opportunity, Sajin
has recently claimed that he had been poisoned by parties unhappy with his
various links and to destabilise the President. It is a highly unlikely
scenario but it has the effect of keeping Sajin from meeting his Minister and
facing his nemesis.
Until and unless Sajin Vaas Gunawardena is prepared to accept that he is not
CEO material and lacks the expertise to turn this around, Mihin Lanka is set to
be a permanent drain on the Treasury � dragging the country into a mire that is
getting deeper by the day � in fact, deeper by a cool Rs 1 million
plus, a day.
