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SLFEA suspends air ticket purchases from private sector for workers travelling to Israel, S. Korea
View(s):By Namini Wijedasa
The state-run Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency (SLFEA) has temporarily stopped buying airline tickets from the private sector for workers travelling to Israel and South Korea after travel agents questioned the agency’s irregular procurement methods that flouted government tender procedure.
The agency is now awaiting instructions from the National Procurement Commission (NPC) on how to deal with the specific challenge of having to buy airline tickets on short notice—a requirement that it claims does not allow for mandatory bidding periods to be respected. In the interim, the SLFEA is buying tickets from the state-owned Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank and SriLankan Airlines. Between government entities, such purchases are allowed at short notice.
The Sunday Times reported in March that travel agents had challenged the SLFEA over the short, irregular tender periods granted to quote ticket prices for workers leaving to Israel and South Korea under bilateral agreements.
Based on an independent analysis of recent tenders (January 3 to March 4, 2025) obtained by this newspaper, it was observed that the SLFEA granted travel agents various tender periods—ranging from five days to a few hours—to bid for blocs of tickets.
There did not appear to be a set formula or logic for how many hours or days were granted to make their offers. There was also a pattern of certain travel agents winning tenders more frequently than others.
The SLFEA has maintained that this problem was not created by it, as workers often had to be sent to Israel or Korea on short notice. SLFEA Chairman Lal Hettiarachchi said the date or time of departure was decided based on employer demand and when the job orders were received.
After the issue was flagged, however, Mr. Hettiarachchi had a meeting with all stakeholders, including airlines and travel agents. The purchase of tickets through the private sector was suspended. “We stopped for a short period because otherwise it will be challenged repeatedly that we are not following government procurement guidelines,” the chairman said this week. “We have asked the Procurement Commission for a clarification because we need a special, separate guideline for these purchases.”
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