NOC come out with refined administrative structure
Subramaniam also revealed that the NOC, which was placed under a temporary fund seizure by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Confederation of Asia (OCA), will restart its usual operational and administrative functions from this week following the revocation.
NOC President Suresh Subramaniam (L) and Secretary Rifdy Fahmy explaining facts
“We were advised by the IOC and OCA to put our house in order, or face a temporary suspension of the usual funds that are meant for development and athlete grants. We had to go through a tremendously challenging phase during the past few months, but somehow managed to restore the local NOC’s integrity amongst the international and local stakeholders,” Subramaniam told reporters.
One of the main challenges the local NOC had to overcome was the demands made by the IOC and OCA to clean house by getting rid of certain officials who were deemed to be corrupt or misusing their official privileges for personal gain. As a result, the NOC’s long-standing Secretary General, Maxwell de Silva, was imposed with a five-year ban following the recommendation of its Independent Ethics Committee. Chandana Liyanage, who served as the Assistant Secretary, was also placed under temporary suspension pending the outcome of an inquiry conducted by the same Ethics Committee. Two more officials – Suranjith Premadasa, a Vice President, and Gamini Jayasinghe, the Treasurer – resigned from their positions, citing various reasons. Both are believed to be allies of the ousted de Silva, who has now been replaced by Rifdy Fahmy, following proper procedures.
Shirantha Peries, who served as the Assistant Treasurer, was elevated to Treasurer, the position Jayasinghe held. Premadasa’s Vice President position has been filled by another stalwart of the NOC, Deva Henry, whilst Prithiviraj Perera comes in to fill the Assistant Treasurer’s position, formerly held by Peries. In addition, Pavithra Fernando comes in as a Committee Member, replacing Fahmy’s place to complete the five new appointments.
“All these new appointments were made following proper procedures, within the provisions provided by the constitution the NOC now follows. I may be the President, but all placements, new, old or those in the relevant committees, have an active role to play in continuing the good governance we follow and intend to pass on to generations to come,” Subramaniam stressed, whilst pledging to deal completely with officials aligned to corruption, misconduct and treason towards the country’s foremost independent sport governing body that follows and imparts the Olympic Charter.
The NOC will be fully functional from this week, beginning with the Olympic Day Run, an international Olympic Movement activity promoting mass participation in sport held in June and organised by over 200 NOCs affiliated to the IOC. Whilst the rest of the world celebrates the event between June 17 and 23, Sri Lanka will conduct its Olympic Day Run on June 25 at Galle.