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Has the Sri Lanka Cricket Board's interim committee been taken for a ride on the signing of the television deal with Sony (PCM Sports, Pvt Ltd) of India?

At a recent press conference, interim committee chairman Rienzie Wijetilleke called upon the Cricket Board's chief executive Dammika Ranatunga to outline the procedures adopted for the tender in relation to the TV sponsorship and stated that the committee had decided to proceed with the offer from Sony TV on the basis that this was the best offer and because of the limited time available to them.

Wijetilleke also stated that the interim committee seemed satisfied with the procedures adopted by the previous executive committee in this connection.

However, reliable sources close to the Ministry of Sports inform us that there has been no reply whatsoever to their letter dated June 8, 1999 addressed to the chief executive which reads under the caption 'Television/Broadcasting and Sponsorship': ``Reference your faxed letter dated June 7, 1999 on the above subject. Also please refer to my earlier letter No: SYAS/WT/BCCSL of October 10, 1998 on the same subject.

``Please let me know the basis of the selection of M/s PCM Sports (Pvt) Ltd and whether open international bids have been called and were evaluated. If so, please send me relevant basic documents on calling of bids for me to consider your request. Yours faithfully, Signed Dr. R.M.K. Ratnayake, secretary, Ministry of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports''.

Subsequently a letter dated June 17, 1999 from Asia Sports Group chairman and CEO Seamus O'Brien to Wijetilleke states the following (extracts):

``As you maybe aware we were one of the companies who submitted a bid in the recent tender process for sponsorship and television right that was conducted by the previous board.

``As somebody who has been involved at a senior level in the world of international sports marketing and broadcasting for over 15 years I feel compelled to place on record, a protest in the strongest possible terms, to the manner in which this tender was carried. In simple language the whole process was conducted with a complete lack of transparency and professionalism. I apologise for being so frank but there are no other words to describe what occurred. If my understanding of the proposed successful party's identity is correct, together with the manner in which the Board had tried to sign off a deal before they were disbanded by the courts, then it would appear that the ulterior motive of the previous Board and the inconsistencies in the procedure have been totally exposed.

``As it turns out that all our efforts have been wasted due to the fact that we were misled by the previous Board in the tender documents and have subsequently suffered as a result of a corrupted process, as would now appear to be the case, then you would understand that I can have no option but to seek legal recourse for the full recovery of all our funds and time expended to-date in compiling our bid''.

With the furore created on the previous occasion when a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with World Tel, the question that can be asked is why scant respect has been given by the Cricket Board to a Sports Ministry directive on the same subject involving hundreds of millions of rupees.

No doubt the Sports Ministry is the watchdog for all national sports associations. It is therefore rather surprising that the interim committee has not taken adequate steps to concur with the Ministry's secretary who has questioned the previous Board whether open international bids were called and were properly evaluated. The absence of advertisments via the print and electronic media which are terms for pre-qualification and adhering to proper tender procedures makes the whole issue lack transparency.

The question that is being asked is how come the Sports Ministry whilst being asked by the chief executive to nominate a representative to be present at the presentation of Sony TV on June 8 at Hilton Hotel, was not requested to be present at the all important evaluation process and the opening of bids etc.

It is due to the unprofessional manner in which this matter has been handled that the Sports Ministry secretary has called from the Board's chief executive for the basic documents in relation to this deal.

The last thing this country wants to witness is another controversial television deal. The matter is of grave importance financially and the knowledgeable cricketing public of Sri Lanka expects members of the interim committee to act with caution and responsibility when dealing in matters of this magnitude.