Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), Sarath Kongahage, and former Additional Director General Devapriya Abeysinghe, who had been taken into custody by the Bribery Commission and remanded in connection with a corruption allegation, were ordered to be released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

After considering the submissions made by officials of the Bribery Commission and the lawyers representing the suspects, Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued this order today (17).

Accordingly, each suspect was ordered to be released on two personal bails of Rs. 1 million each, while also imposing a travel ban preventing them from travelling overseas.

The Magistrate further ordered that the case be recalled on September 08 and that the progress of investigations be reported on that date.

The Bribery Commission had arrested the duo on allegations that six employees were recruited outside the approved cadre of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and assigned to the personal staff of former Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, thereby causing loss to the SLRC. (Newswire)

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The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) today arrested former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), Sarath Kongahage, and former Additional Director General, Devapriya Abeysinghe, over corruption allegations.

According to the Bribery Commission, the two officials are accused of recruiting six employees outside the approved cadre of the SLRC and assigning them to the personal staff of former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. 

The move is alleged to have caused a financial loss of Rs. 14.32 million to the Rupavahini Corporation.

The arrests were made following a probe by the Bribery Commission, which is continuing investigations. 

The suspects are expected to be produced before the court. (Newswire)

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Key Cabinet decisions have been taken regarding state-owned broadcasters, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), and the Independent Television Network (ITN). 

Firstly, the Cabinet has approved the proposal for the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation to be maintained as separate state enterprises with their own identities.

The government states approval was granted at the Cabinet meeting held in November 2023, in principle, for SLBC and SLRC to merge and be established as a single state company. Accordingly, recommendations were forwarded by the State Enterprise Restructuring Unit as to how a state company should be established by merging SLBC and SLRC under the Company Act. 

However, as further action was not taken in this respect so far, it was identified that the expected results could not be achieved by merging these two institutions due to various reasons, such as the different technologies used by the two broadcasters, the larger space required by SLRC compared to SLBC for recording, and the transmission towers being located in different places. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Mass Media to continue SLBC and SLRC as two separate enterprises with their own identities by increasing operational efficiency and revenue status through a strategic business plan.

Secondly, the Cabinet approved the proposal to enhance and maintain the broadcasting activities of the Independent Television Network (ITN).

The government states that the Independent Television Network, inaugurated as the first ever television channel in the country, is operated as a company with 100% share rights to the General Treasury. 

However, due to producing programmes utilizing age-old computer appliances and outdated software, it has been problematic to broadcast attractive programmes with high quality and competitively in the field. 

As such, considering a proposal by the Minister of Mass Media, the Cabinet decided to allocate provisions for supplying essential appliances for ITN on a priority basis from the budget 2026 so that subscriber attraction can be enhanced and broadcasting can be continued without disruption. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) Director General Manoj Nadeeshana Amarasinghe and Deputy Director General (Administration) Thanuja Ariyaratne have been removed from the office premises after being heckled by employees. 

According to internal sources at the television station, this incident had occurred as a result of numerous conflicts that the officers in question had with employees of the institution.

It is reported that SLRC employees had engaged in multiple arguments with Ariyaratne over a number of issues, including her frequent scolding of employees and belittling them. She was appointed during the tenure of the previous chairman, Senesh Bandara Dissanayake.

As the Director General of the television station had continuously defended her, employees had become furious with him. 

An altercation had occurred today after the employees had requested a discussion with Director General Manoj Nadeeshana regarding this situation.

Following the altercation, the employees had united, leading to the removal of the Director General and the Director General in charge of the administrative division from the office premises. (Newswire)

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The proposal to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Chongqing Transmission Corporation Limited of China and Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) has received a Cabinet nod. 

According to the government, the MOU is to be signed to promote long-term friendship and mutual understanding, strengthening cooperation, and exchanging training opportunities in the field of media. 

The move will provide opportunities for exchange programs between China and Sri Lanka, promoting academic and training opportunities, producing joint television programs, and obtaining necessary publicity for the tourism industry. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Mass Media to sign the MOU between China’s Chongqing Transmission Corporation Limited and the SLRC. (Newswire)

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The newly appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Rupawahini Corporation (SLRC) Gihan de Silva assumed duties on Thursday (Dec 26). 

Appointed by the Minister of Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, he fills the vacancy created by the resignation of the former Chairman Senesh Dissanayake Bandara.

Gihan de Silva is a business professional with over 25 years of experience and has demonstrated capabilities in marketing, strategic planning and management, as well as gaining a reputation for creating impactful brands.

An old boy from Nalanda College, Colombo, he holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Sri Jayewardenepura University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Colombo University.

He is also a member of the Presidential Task Force for the government’s ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) has debuted two artificial intelligence (AI) newscasters on its main news broadcast, marking a significant innovation in local broadcasting technology.

This historic broadcast featured the AI versions of Chaminda Gunarathne and Nishadi Bandaranayake, two of SLRC’s most popular news anchors, who presented a feature story on Sunday night’s newscast entirely in Sinhala. 

This event marks the first instance in the country where a news segment was conducted using AI technology in the Sinhala language. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) Bingiriya area correspondent Dinith Kumara has been presented before the Hettipola Magistrate’s Court today (Dec 01) after being arrested over an altercation with the Police.

Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said he was arrested after engaging in an argument with the OIC of the Bingiriya Police Station while recording footage of the Bingiriya Police Station from the road without permission.

SSP Thalduwa further said the SLRC area correspondent had continued to record footage even after being escorted inside the Bingiriya Police Station due to which he was arrested.

The SLRC area correspondent was arrested following the incident yesterday, and produced before the Hettipola Magistrate’s Court today.

Video : https://shorturl.at/cyKLQ (NewsWire)

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The Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) will be converted into a public company, Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced. 

According to a Parliament statement, it was disclosed at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Mass Media that the SLRC and the SLBC were continuing to incur losses.

The details were revealed when the said Ministerial Consultative Committee on Mass Media met in Parliament last week (Nov 23) under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Transport and Highways and Minister of Mass Media Bandula Gunawardena.

Presenting statistics from 2015, Minister Gunawardena pointed out how these two channels have made losses, adding that the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation has made a loss of 277 million rupees in the year 2023 and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation has made a loss of 457 million rupees in the year 2023. 

Pointing out that it is difficult for the Treasury to provide funds for these channels, he stated that there are plans to convert the SLRC and the SLBC into a public company. Accordingly, the Committee Chair further commented that the Cabinet Ministers have decided to appoint a committee to take further action in this regard.

The committee was also informed that the state media does not provide enough publicity for the various development projects implemented by the government. 

Minister Gunawardena emphasized that public media should broadcast the inconveniences of the public who are affected by various dilapidated buildings, roads, bridges etc. as well as inform the public about the facilities that have been provided to the public following the development.

He further instructed the Sri Lanka Press Council to prepare a report on the measures that can be taken to regulate the propaganda activities carried out by the media in a way that harms the social culture and personal health and submit it to the Committee.

State Ministers Shantha Bandara, Janaka Wakkumbura, Members of Parliament Velu Kumar, Prof. Charitha Herath, D. B. Herath, Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Gunathilaka Rajapaksha, and Sudath Manjula, were present at the Committee meeting. (NewsWire)

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